Houston FHA Loans
Homes for sale in Houston are bountiful. There are plenty of choices from newly built homes to existing homes when looking to buy a house in Houston. Are you in the market to buy a house or perhaps refinance your existing mortgage? Houston offers plenty of mortgage loan programs that will suit your particular needs.
Houston FHA Loan Limit
"HARRIS COUNTY"
$541,287
One-Family
$693,050
Two-Family
$837,700
Three-Family
$1,041,125
Four-Family
FHA Home Loans in Houston
FHA loans are the most common and widely used mortgage program in Houston, from first-time homebuyers to seasoned home buyers. With FHA’s wide range of products, every borrower can be sure that an FHA loan program is suitable for their situation.
We are a Texas mortgage lender offering FHA home loan programs for borrowers with excellent credit and those with not-so-good credit. We offer purchase and refinance loans, from the standard 203(b) to FHA construction loans, 203(k) loans for homes that need rehabilitation, and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, aka Reverse Mortgages.
We have a loan program for you and your family. Are you looking to refinance your existing mortgage to lower your rate and cut your term? FHA Rate and Term refinance program can help you with that. Are you refinancing an existing FHA loan? Our FHA streamline program will help refinance your mortgage with ease.
Mortgage Broker vs. Mortgage Lender
A mortgage broker is a middleman between the prospective home buyer and the mortgage lender. They prepare your loan application, qualify you for a loan, gather all the necessary documents about the loan, and can issue a pre-qualification letter. The typical mortgage broker works with several lenders and submits your file to a particular lender for them to give the loan. In short, a mortgage broker doesn’t have the money; they look for the funds to extend a home loan.
A mortgage lender is an institution that makes loans directly to a borrower. A broker doesn’t lend the money; they find a lender. Different lending institutions offer various loan programs and can fund their loans. The Federal Housing Administration or FHA works with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, commonly known as HUD, to create requirements for lenders, thus the term “FHA-approved.”
As direct mortgage lenders, we have access to several loan programs not available in the open market. This is one of the most significant advantages of working with a direct lender. You will have a personalized service catered to your individual needs instead of a cookie-cutter program that most brokers are accustomed to.
FHA Loan Programs
- 203(b) – the country’s most widely used home loan program.
- 203(k) – combines the cost of rehabilitation with the house’s purchase price.
- 203(h) – a rehab loan for disaster victims available to those affected by a calamity or natural disaster where the property is located in a federally declared major disaster federally declared major disaster area.
- Construction Loan – a construction-to-permanent loan program that converts interim financing to a permanent long-term fixed-rate loan.
- HECM – commonly known as Reverse Mortgage, exclusive to homeowners 62 years and older.
- Streamline Refinance – used to refinance an existing FHA loan to another FHA loan. Does not need a new appraisal, a new credit report, or both.
Advantages of an FHA Loan
- Easier credit qualifications: FHA loan requirements are less strict than conventional loans, and borrowers can qualify with credit scores as low as 500.
- Lower down payment requirement: FHA loans require a minimum down payment of just 3.5%, compared to the 5% to 20% required for conventional loans.
- Assumable loans: FHA loans are assumable, which means that when you sell your home, the buyer can take over your FHA loan and its interest rate. This can be a significant advantage in a rising interest rate environment.
- Streamlined refinancing: FHA loans are eligible for streamlined refinances, which can help homeowners refinance their mortgages quickly and easily. Streamline refinances require less paperwork and no appraisal, making them a more streamlined process than traditional refinancing.
- Lenient debt-to-income ratio requirements: Unlike conventional loans, FHA loans are not limited to a 43% debt-to-income ratio. This can make it easier for borrowers with higher debt loads to qualify for an FHA loan.
- Lower MI rates: FHA loans charge mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) in addition to interest and principal payments, but these rates may be lower than private mortgage insurance (PMI) rates charged for conventional loans.