When a lender makes a decision about a mortgage application, they consider two basic factors are your ability and your willingness to repay the loan.

Ability to repay the mortgage is determined by verifying your current employment and analyzing your total income. Lenders prefer for you to have been employed at the same place for at least two years, or at least be in the same line of work for a few years. Your proposed monthly payment will be compared to your monthly income and debt.

Willingness to repay is influenced by how you have paid previous loans and by examining how the property will be used. Willingness can be gauged by your credit report and previous commitments to pay rent and/or utility bills. There is also a greater tendency to stick with your payments if you live in a house as opposed to a rental property or vacation home.

It is important to remember that there are no set rules and each applicant is handled on a case-by-case basis. Many applicants come up a little short in one area, but make up for it with other strong points. These compensating factors may include a large down payment, solid employment, extensive educational background or overall financial health.

For applicants who need to make a lower down payment, mortgage insurance is protection for the lender in case you stop making payments. This allows low and moderate income families to become homeowners with low down payment programs

Please Note: These calculated rates are current averages, but will vary based on many factors including credit worthiness and down payment, to name a few. Contact a loan officer today for a personal quote.

A single family mortgage program that provides mortgage insurance for a person to purchase a principal residence in a rural area. Section 203(i) provides mortgage insurance for a person to purchase a principal residence in a rural area. The mortgage loan is funded by a lending institution, such as a mortgage company, bank, savings and loan association and the mortgage is insured by HUD.

Eligibility requirements:

• Borrower must meet standard FHA credit qualifications.
• Borrower is eligible for approximately 97% financing. Borrower is able to finance closing costs and the up front mortgage insurance premium into the mortgage. The borrower will also be responsible for paying an annual premium.
• Eligible properties are one to four unit structures, including farm housing located on 2 acres or more of land adjacent to an all weather road.

Closing costs can also be financed to reduce the up front cost of buying a home. here may be closing costs customary or unique to a certain locality, but closing costs are usually made up of the following:

• Attorney's or escrow fees (yours and your lender's if applicable)
• Property taxes (to cover tax period to date)
• Interest (paid from date of closing to 30 days before first monthly payment)
• Loan origination fee (covers lender's administrative costs)
• Recording fees
• Survey fee
• First premium of mortgage insurance (if applicable)
• Title insurance (yours and your lender's)
• Loan discount points
• First payment to escrow account for future real estate taxes and insurance
• Paid receipt for homeowner's insurance policy (and fire and flood insurance if applicable)
• Any documentation preparation fees

FHA allows 100% of the down payment to be a gift from friends, family or other sources.

The down payment for an FHA mortgage can be 100% gift funds. This is one of the key benefits to the FHA program.

Verification of the source of gift money is not required. However, it is necessary that the gift funds be deposited in the borrower's bank or savings account, or in an escrow account, prior to underwriting approval. Proof of deposit is required.

Gift donors are restricted primarily to a relative of the borrower. They can also be certain organizations, such as a labor union or charitable organization. Contact your local branch for complete information.

If you have ever paid off a home loan backed by FHA, you may have money owed to you. And the government wants to pay you back.

About 1 in 10 FHA borrowers leave money in their escrow accounts when they pay off their loans. The average refund for each borrower is about $700.

Former FHA borrowers who think they might be due a refund can call a toll free number, 800-697-6967, write HUD at P.O. Box 23669, Washington DC 20026-3699, or look for his/her name with the HUD Refund Search Form on their web site.

An FHA loan the borrower will be charged a mortgage insurance premium equal to 1.50% of the purchase price of the property and a renewal premium of .500% in subsequent years.

FHA requires a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) for its home buying programs. An up front premium of 1.50% of the loan amount is paid at closing and can be financed into the mortgage amount. In addition, there is a monthly MIP amount included in the PITI of .50%. Condos do not require up front MIP - only monthly MIP.

The mortgage insurance premium paid on an FHA loan is always significantly higher than on a conventional program. On an FHA loan the borrower will be charged a mortgage insurance premium equal to 1.50% of the purchase price of the property and a renewal premium of .500% in subsequent years. By contrast the mortgage insurance premium charged at closing on a conventional program is as low as .500% (with 10% down payment) with renewal rate in subsequent years as low as .300% in subsequent years.

FHA's mortgage insurance programs help low and moderate income families become homeowners by lowering some of the costs of their mortgage loans. FHA mortgage insurance also encourages mortgage companies to make loans to otherwise creditworthy borrowers and projects that might not be able to meet conventional underwriting requirements, by protecting the mortgage company against loan default on mortgages for properties that meet certain minimum requirements--including manufactured homes, single-family and multifamily properties, and some health-related facilities.

Section 203(b) is the centerpiece of FHA's single family insurance programs. It is the successor of the program that helped save homeowners from default in the 1930s, that helped open the suburbs for returning veterans in the 1940s and 1950s, and that helped shape the modern mortgage finance system. Today, FHA One to Four Family Mortgage Insurance is still an important tool through which the Federal Government expands home ownership opportunities for first time home buyers and other borrowers who would not otherwise qualify for conventional loans on affordable terms, as well as for those who live in under served areas where mortgages may be harder to get. In 1997, FHA insured more than 790,000 homes, valued at almost $60 billion, under this program. FHA currently insures a total of about 7 million loans valued at nearly $400 billion. These obligations are protected by FHA's Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, which is sustained entirely by borrower premiums.

:: Section 203(b) has several important features:

• Down payment requirements can be low. In contrast to conventional mortgage products, which frequently require down payments of 10 percent or more of the purchase price of the home, single family mortgages insured by FHA under Section 203(b) make it possible to reduce down payments to as little as 3 percent. This is because FHA insurance allows borrowers to finance approximately 97 percent of the value of their home purchase through their mortgage, in some cases.
• Many closing costs can be financed. With most conventional loans, the borrower must pay, at the time of purchase, closing costs (the many fees and charges associated with buying a home) equivalent to 2-3 percent of the price of the home. This program allows the borrower to finance many of these charges, thus reducing the up front cost of buying a home. FHA mortgage insurance is not free: borrowers pay an up front insurance premium (which may be financed) at the time of purchase, as well as monthly premiums that are not financed, but instead are added to the regular mortgage payment.
• Some fees are limited. FHA rules impose limits on some of the fees that mortgage companies may charge in making a loan. For example, the loan origination fee charged by the mortgage company for the administrative cost of processing the loan may not exceed one percent of the amount of the mortgage.
• HUD sets limits on the amount that may be insured. To make sure that its programs serve low and moderate income people, FHA sets limits on the dollar value of the mortgage loan.

The right type of mortgage for you depends on many different factors. There isn't a single or simple answer to this question. The right type of mortgage for you depends on many different factors:

• Your current financial picture
• How you expect your finances to change
• How long you intend to keep your house
• How comfortable you are with your mortgage payment changing

For example, a 15-year fixed rate mortgage can save you many thousands of dollars in interest payments over the life of the loan, but your monthly payments will be higher. An adjustable rate mortgage may get you started with a lower monthly payment than a fixed rate mortgage, but your payments could get higher when the interest rate changes.

The best way to find the "right" answer is to discuss your finances, your plans and financial prospects, and your preferences frankly with a mortgage professional.

When a lender makes a decision about a mortgage application, they consider two basic factors:

1. your ability to repay the loan.
2. your willingness to repay the loan.

Ability to repay the mortgage is determined by verifying your current employment and analyzing your total income. Lenders prefer for you to have been employed at the same place for at least two years, or at least be in the same line of work for a few years. Your proposed monthly payment will be compared to your monthly income and debt.

Willingness to repay is influenced by how you have paid previous loans and by examining how the property will be used. Willingness can be gauged by your credit report and previous commitments to pay rent and/or utility bills. There is also a greater tendency to stick with your payments if you live in a house as opposed to a rental property or vacation home.

It is important to remember that there are no set rules and each applicant is handled on a case-by-case basis. Many applicants come up a little short in one area, but make up for it with other strong points. These compensating factors may include a large down payment, solid employment, extensive educational background or overall financial health.

For applicants who need to make a lower down payment, mortgage insurance is protection for the lender in case you stop making payments. This allows low and moderate income families to become homeowners with low down payment programs

Your monthly mortgage payment typically is made up of four components: principal, interest, taxes and insurance, together known as PITI. The principal refers to the part of the monthly payment that reduces the remaining balance of the mortgage. The interest is the fee charged for borrowing money. You can determine the amount of principal and interest by using our Mortgage Payment Calculator.

Taxes refer to property taxes your community levies which are generally based on a percentage of the value of your home. The lender usually collects 1/12th of the yearly property tax bill each month. The lender collects taxes in advance and places the money in an escrow fund.

Lenders won't let you close on your home loan if you don't have hazard insurance to cover your home and your personal property against losses from fire, theft, bad weather and other causes. The insurance amount is collected and paid much like the taxes. Each month 1/12th of the insurance bill is collected and stored in an escrow account until the bill is due. Even if you pay cash for your home, it is a good idea to buy hazard insurance in the event your home is damaged or destroyed.

Principal and interest comprise the bulk of your monthly payments in a process called amortization, which reduces your debt over a fixed period of time. With amortization, your initial monthly payments are largely interest, and as the loan matures, a greater portion of your payment is allocated toward the principal.