There are many myths about FHA secure loans. It is time to clear up the ambiguity and let the homeowners of America know exactly what can and cannot be done with an FHA secure mortgage. There is a lot to go over, but if you are upside down on your home, behind on your mortgage payments, in foreclosure, have an adjustable rate mortgage, or have a first and second mortgage on your home then you may benefit from an FHA secure mortgage.

The Late Mortgage Payment

If you are like many homeowners you have been late on some of your mortgage payments recently. You may even be up to 90 days or more behind on your mortgage payment. The FHA secure program does not have any requirements for late payments. What does this mean to you? Late mortgage payments do not eliminate your chances of obtaining a loan with this program. In fact, there is no limit on the number of late payments or past due payments that are allowed. Keep in mind that you do not have to be past due on any payments and you do not have to have any late payments. Late payments do not play a major role in your ability to qualify for an FHA secure mortgage.   There is one limit on late payments. If you currently have an interest only mortgage you must be current on your mortgage. Late payments are allowed if your adjustable rate mortgage has recently reset. This is considered a payment shock. Homeowners that are currently in foreclosure are also eligible for an FHA secure mortgage; depending on how much equity remains in the home and several other factors. Homeowners in foreclosure should always try to work with their current lender but it may be possible to obtain FHA financing and save your home.

FHA Loan Limits

The loan limits for FHA financing vary by county. You can easily find these limits online or you can contact an FHA approved lender to get more information on these limits. FHA is not concerned with the value of your property. It is possible to use an FHA secure mortgage to refinance a home if you owe more than the value of your property. Your current lender will need to be willing to accept a short payoff, or the lender that you are using for the FHA secure loan must be willing to offer you a second mortgage to make up the difference. If you currently hold a first and second mortgage and you would like to refinance with an FHA secure mortgage, the combined amounts of your first and second must be less that the FHA loan limits for your county.

For many people, wondering how to afford a home at all is an overwhelming question. But this is often due to misconceptions which keep the customer from knowing what to do.

With the right information you can set aside most of your concern about affording a down payment and financing a new home. The knowledgeable customer and the right Realtor can shift the focus from saving money to saving much worry.

Fannie Mae’s National Housing Surveys reveal widespread assumptions holding back potential homeowners needlessly. One of the biggest is that buyers need 20 percent of the purchase price as a downpayment to purchase a home. But today, several specialized mortgage programs require little or no down payment.

A veteran’s Administration (VA) Loan lets eligible military personnel finance up to 100 percent of a home, even if their credit is imperfect. An FHA Loan requires as little as 3 percent, as a downpayment.

There are also community lending programs that let homebuyers who meet local HUD median-income guidelines pay $500 or one percent of the purchase price, whichever is less. There are county and municipal grant funds that are also available to prospective buyers ranging from $1000-$25,000. These funds can be used for one or a combination of expenses (downpayment, closing cost, buydown etc.)

Additionally, mortgage products are available specifically for the self-employed and for those with bad credit scores. Another advantage to keep in mind is not just the discounts you can gain going into a home purchase, but the ones you can obtain from making the purchase itself - a significant number of those answering the Fannie Mae surveys didn’t know that mortgage interest is tax deductible. That benefit can substantially relieve your financial concerns.

The surveys also found many people believe that mortgage lenders are legally required to give the best possible loan rates. Not so. Actually, many factors influence a range of rates offered by various lenders, so there’s no substitute for shopping around and doing your homework.

Of course there is more than one way to make sure it gets done. Qualified professionals can lead you through the maze of options to the most efficient and economical solution for you. Your local real estate professional can help you determine your financial abilities and meet your financial needs.

New Loan Programs Help You Stop House Foreclosure

Trying to refinance a mortgage with bad credit? Trying to stop a house foreclosure? Has your refinance already been turned down one or more times in the past year? You should know there are new lending programs that were designed specifically to reduce foreclosures in the US. These programs makes it easier to refinance and save your home.

Loan Officers Tend To Specialize

It’s important to understand that loan officers and brokers usually specialize in certain types of loan products and certain types of clientele. For example, one may specialize in working with first-time home buyers, while another specializes in working with investors and yet another specializes in luxury estate homes. This does not necessarily make one loan officer better than another. There are literally hundreds of loan products out there, even with the current mortgage mess. It is humanly impossible to stay on top of all developments in all loan categories.

Your Broker May Not Specialize on Working With People in Your Situation

Your circumstances may have changed since your home purchase or last refinance. You may now find yourself in a financial bind, with some negative marks on your credit. You may even be behind on your mortgage payments. What you need more than anything else is the fresh start that comes with refinancing. But at this point you need to avoid a common mistake.

Loan Officers Don’t Always Know What They Don’t Know

This is the mistake some homeowners make: They go back to their previous trusted mortgage consultant - who does not specialize in working with homeowners with financial challenges - to see if they can refinance. The broker tells them they don’t qualify for a refinance. They give up their quest immediately.

Find One Who Knows What They Need To Know To Help You

My advice to you is don’t give up at that point. Keep searching until you find a broker who specializes in working with homeowners with less than perfect credit histories and keeps tabs on lenders who work with impaired credit… in other words - the sub-prime lender, high risk mortgage lender, or bad credit rating mortgage lender.

One Of The First Lessons I Learned

I learned this lesson years ago when I was a newly minted realtor. The company who trained me encouraged us to use their in-house mortgage broker. On one occasion, the broker tried to pre-qualify one of my buyers and then told me she couldn’t qualify for a loan. To my amazement this young lady went out on her own and found a mortgage broker who was able to qualify her for the loan. I came to understand that the in-house broker specialized in high-end homes and high credit score buyers. My buyer was average and did not fit his profile. From that point on, I learned to match up a buyer or homeowner with a mortgage broker who specialized in loans to fit their unique situation.

Benefit From My Experience

Learn the lesson from my experience. If you have tried to refinance a mortgage with bad credit, in order to stop a house foreclosure and been denied once - don’t let that be the end of the story. Find a broker who specializes in working with people in your situation and give it one more try. You have nothing to lose and much to gain.

If you’d like me to help you review your options and identify an appropriate mortgage broker, my contact information is below.

Note: You Can Avoid Foreclosure Without Refinancing

There are other ways of avoiding foreclosure that do not involve refinancing - like a mortgage loan modification or a loss mitigation program - but that’s a topic for another day.

For some, it can be a frustrating experience obtaining a mortgage deal. One of the reasons why people find this a difficult task is because they known that they will be tied against a contract for a number of years. If you are a first time buyer the process can be even more difficult to understand. With this being a difficult task to overcome, one must compare mortgages online first or speak to a financial advisor explaining the terms and conditions of the process.

To obtain the finest mortgage deal, you must analyse the product thoroughly and see if it suits your requirements. Only recently the lending industry has tightened up, this has cause a lot of problems for people who have less than perfect credit.

This has been undertaken by comparing mortgages from hundreds of different mortgage lenders, with so many firms available, even people with bad credit history have a chance to step up the property ladder.

Applying online can be so convenient; doing an automated search for mortgages you only have to fill out one form, once. By applying this information over to a qualified mortgage broker, it can be time consuming and may only be limited to a search. This process can not only save you a lot of time, but also save you a lot of money. Just a simple form and a click of a button is all that is necessary for the your mortgage deal to get processed.

Remember, when applying for a mortgage deal, it is something that you’re going to have to live with for some time, so make sure that you check out all your options before actually making your decision.

-You want to shorten your paying period.

If this is the case, select a refinancing option that has a shorter term but be wary of upfront fees and other unrevealed costs.

-You want a quick refinancing.

Some lenders have special packages which offer speedy approval and closing processes as a promo to attract old and new customers.

-You are in need of money, quick.

It usually happens that people resort to refinancing because there is an urgent financial need. It could be to pay for their children’s college education, to purchase a car maybe, or to pay for an emergency trip. Whatever it is, you should consider home equity products or mortgage products that offer cash-out refinancing.

-You simply want to cut your monthly mortgage expenses.

Try to search for a refinancing option where you stand to get a longer term and/or a more favorable interest rate. Here are some of your options:

Refinance for convenience.

Some mistakenly take out two mortgages on their property, hoping to get the same low interest rates on the first. However, it can be quite cumbersome to manage extra mortgages each month so it might be a better option to avail of a refinancing option that puts together the first and other mortgages into one easy-to-manage package.

It limits your interactions to just one lender and also opens a junior mortgage lien position on your property if, in the future, you would wish to apply for a credit line or a home equity loan.

Refinance to do away with mortgage insurance.

If the loan-to-value ratio of your first mortgage was greater than 80%, you would have likely been billed by your lender with private mortgage insurance (PMI). This can cost you about a thousand dollars or more a year. If you believe that the ratio has dropped and your lender hasn’t dropped the PMI, it may be the right time to find an alternative lender that won’t burden you with PMI.

Refinance for lower payments.

To ease your monthly bills, you may want to stretch your payment period from, say 15 years to a more manageable 30 years. Just make sure that your new loan won’t charge you with a prepayment penalty - this is what a lender may charge if you make unscheduled payments on your loan.

Refinance for fixed monthly payments.

You don’t have to fret about getting an adjustable-rate mortgage in the first place. There is still a way out with refinancing, where you can shift to a less erratic fixed-rate mortgage loan.

Sometimes refinancing with your present lender may be the easiest course, as lenders often try to keep their customers within their circle. They occasionally offer plans where you don’t have to fuss with too much paperwork.

The advantage of doing this is you will be armed with the knowledge of the figures you need to ask your current lender about. Not a few companies are willing to be flexible in many aspects to give their customers a win-win deal.