* The higher loan limits will also apply to FHA's 203(k) Rehabilitation Program, which offers homebuyers an FHA-insured mortgage to finance both the costs of purchasing and repairing homes in older urban areas.
* The increase in FHA mortgage loan limits will also benefit senior citizens. Under the increase, many senior citizens can now qualify for larger FHA-insured reverse mortgages - enabling some individual homeowners to borrow thousands of dollars in additional funds.
Reverse mortgages allow homeowners age 62 and older to borrow against the value of their homes without selling the homes. Homeowners can collect a lump-sum payment, monthly payments, or tap into a line of credit to get cash when needed. No repayment is necessary as long as the homeowner lives in a home with a reverse mortgage. The reverse mortgage is repaid, with interest, when a homeowner sells the home or dies.
By law, HUD cannot insure a reverse mortgage above the local FHA loan limit. Therefore, an increase in the loan limit can increase the value of a reverse mortgage.
FHA does not make mortgage loans directly, but rather insures loans made by private lenders to homebuyers. FHA insurance guarantees the lender timely payment of principal and interest, in the event the homebuyer defaults on the loan.
Because FHA mortgage insurance protects lenders from losses, it has enabled millions of Americans who would otherwise be locked out of the mortgage market and homeownership to qualify for mortgages.
FHA-insured loans also benefit homebuyers in these ways:
- FHA down payments of 3 percent are lower than the minimum that many lenders require for non-FHA mortgages. Higher down payments are a major roadblock to homeownership.
- FHA's requirement for homebuyers credit ratings are more flexible than those set by many lenders for non-FHA borrowers.
- FHA permits homebuyers to use gifts from family members and non-profit groups to make their entire down payment, while conventional loans generally require homebuyers to come up with a portion of the down payment from their own funds.
- FHA permits a borrower to carry more debt than a private mortgage insurer typically allows.
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