FHA For Homeowners
FHA has many options for homeowners who want to refinance, may be facing difficulty or just want to know about the servicing of a loan. Check the list above to go to the information that you want.
Disaster Recovery (Natural Disasters) - (Top)
When the President declares a disaster area, HUD, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and state agencies join together to assist those that have been affected by the disaster. By working with disaster recovery teams, HUD, through the use of special programs, can assist victims in rebuilding safe and healthy housing.
Read about hurricane insurance, find your insurance company, or how to settle a hurricane claim with your insurance company at the Hurricane Information Center.
Read about flood insurance and other disaster information from FEMA's national website, www.floodsmart.gov.
Read FHA's Disaster Help by clicking the button in the left column.
Active Military Duty Mortgage Relief - (Top)
Your ability to make your mortgage payments may be affected if you are in the military or are a reservist called to active duty. Read about the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Fixing up Your Home - (Top)
Want to modernize your home or just make some improvements? A home improvement loan may be available for you to do so. Financing the addition of a new room or putting in new flooring may be all you desire. Sometimes you might see a home you'd like to buy, but it needs a lot of work. FHA has a loan for rehabilitating and repairing single-family properties called the SF Rehabilitation Loan program (203k). You can get just one mortgage loan which includes the mortgage and the cost of repairs combined. The mortgage amount is based on the projected value of the property with the work completed, taking into account the cost of the work. The advantage of this loan is that you can buy a home that needs a lot of work, but you still have only one mortgage payment, and you can complete the repairs after buying the home.
Foreclosure and How to Avoid It - (Top)
There can be many different reasons why homeowners get behind on their mortgage payments. Perhaps you are behind on your mortgage payments because of a job loss, decrease in income or an increase in debts. If you are behind on your mortgage payments, you could lose your home. There may be ways your lender can work with you to prevent foreclosure. Read about How To Avoid Foreclosure.
Good Neighbor Mortgages - (Top)
If you bought a HUD home at a discount under the Good Neighbor Sales program, and you have questions about your mortgage, please contact:
U.S. Department of HUD
c/o Morris-Griffin/First Madison Services, Inc.
4111 S. Darlington, Suite 300
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135
Toll Free: (800) 967-3050
Fax: (918) 270-4213
Help with Your FHA Lender - (Top)
Are you having difficulty working with your lender or do you feel the lender is not responding to your questions? Whether you are attempting to prevent your home from going into foreclosure or just do not understand why your mortgage payment changed, HUD's National Servicing Center may be able to help you get the answers you need from your lender.
Manufactured Housing - (Top)
HUD has regulations that are designed to ensure that when a consumer purchases a Manufactured Home, it is built correctly and complies with health and safety standards. For more information, please see HUD's Manufactured Housing Fact Sheet.
Mortgage Insurance Premiums - (Top)
The Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) you pay is what allowed the reduced downpayment on your mortgage. If the insurance premium is paid to FHA, then yours is an FHA loan, and FHA insures your lender against losses if the loan goes to foreclosure. Regulations were changed in 2001 for some new mortgages to be eligible to stop making the premium payments after a certain loan-to-value ratio is reached.
Many homebuyers ask FHA if they can stop paying FHA monthly mortgage insurance premiums with their mortgages.
FHA insures mortgages so that lenders will be encouraged to make more mortgages available for people. The FHA mortgage insurance agreement is between FHA and the mortgage company, so you must contact your mortgage company and ask them what they require to drop the insurance. Most mortgage companies will want you to have a substantial amount of equity in your home.
For new mortgages insured as of January 2001, HUD/FHA has clarified the requirements for removing insurance premiums for some types of mortgages. You may read more specific information and then contact your mortgage company. HUD cannot remove the insurance premiums for you.
Mortgage Insurance Refunds - (Top)
If you paid off your FHA loan early, and you didn't automatically receive your refund, or your refund wasn't conveyed to your new FHA loan, you may be eligible for a HUD/FHA refund.
Predatory Lending - (Top)
Today HUD is finding more and more incidences of abusive practices by some business people involved in the selling or financing of homes. This is called Predatory Lending. Homeowners can find themselves in a just-purchased home that is not worth the amount of their mortgage loan, or there may be property defects that were not properly disclosed. Either of these can result in problems for the homeowner that could ultimately lead to foreclosure. To understand more about these practices and what you can do, read about Predatory Lending.
Refinancing - (Top)
Is your current home loan interest rate too high? Do you feel the market is right to refinance? Refinancing to lower your interest rate should lower your monthly mortgage payment. By refinancing your home loan you will be creating a new mortgage, but it will pay off your present one. If your home loan is still FHA insured you can use what we refer to as a "Streamline Refinance". This will greatly reduce the amount of paper work you will have to produce.
FHA has permitted streamline refinances on insured mortgages since the early 1980's. The "streamline" refers only to the amount of documentation and underwriting that needs to be performed by the lender, and does not mean that there are no costs involved in the transaction. The basic requirements of a streamline refinance are:
- The mortgage to be refinanced must already be FHA insured.
- The mortgage to be refinanced should be current (not delinquent).
- The refinance is to result in a lowering of the borrower's monthly principal and interest payments.
- No cash may be taken out on mortgages refinanced using the streamline refinance process.
Lenders may offer streamline refinances in several ways. Some lenders offer "no cost" refinances (actually, no out-of-pocket expenses to the borrower) by charging a higher rate of interest on the new loan than if the borrower financed or paid the closing costs in cash. From this premium, the lender pays any closing costs that are incurred on the transaction.
Lenders may offer streamline refinances and include the closing costs into the new mortgage amount. This can only be done if there is sufficient equity in the property, as determined by an appraisal. Streamline refinances can also be done without appraisals, but the new loan amount cannot exceed the original loan amount. Investment properties (properties in which the borrower does not reside in as his or her principal residence) may only be refinanced without an appraisal.
Contact your lender to get started.
Who Can I Call for Help? - (Top)
HUD's National Servicing Center works closely with customers who have FHA insured loans with the goal of foreclosure prevention. We also stand ready to offer you guidance about questions you may have about your mortgage and how to effectively communicate with your mortgage lender.
For assistance, call toll-free (888) 297-8685, email hsg-lossmit@hud.gov, or write to us at:
Department of Housing and Urban Development
National Servicing Center
301 NW 6th Street, Suite 200
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
