FHA Loan Requirements
Whether you're a first-time homebuyer, moving to a new home, or want to refinance your existing conventional or FHA mortgage, the FHA loan program will let you purchase a home with a low down payment and flexible guidelines.
- The Facts About FHA Credit Requirements and FICO® Scores
- Do FHA Loan Requirements Apply to All Borrowers?
- Your FHA Loan Credit Qualifications
FHA Limits for 2023 Announced!
FHA loan limits were established to define how much you can borrow for a HUD-backed mortgage. Each state has different limits, so be sure to look up your state to understand what is available for your FHA home loan.
For 2023, the FHA floor was set at $472,030 for single-family home loans. This minimum lending amount covers most U.S. counties. The FHA ceiling represents the maximum loan amount and is illustrated in the table below.
| FHA Limits (low cost areas) | |||
| Single | Duplex | Tri-plex | Four-plex |
|---|---|---|---|
| $472,030 | $604,400 | $730,525 | $907,900 |
Also for 2023, the FHA ceiling was set at $1,089,300 for single-family home loans. This represents the highest amount that a borrower can get through the FHA loan program. It applies to high cost areas in the United States and is illustrated in the table below.
| FHA Limits (high cost areas) | |||
| Single | Duplex | Tri-plex | Four-plex |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,089,300 | $1,394,775 | $1,685,850 | $2,095,200 |
Down Payment Grants for FHA Loans
Paying the upfront costs of buying a new home can be challenging. To help overcome this hurdle, many local and state agencies offer down payment assistance in the form of grants or second mortgages.
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FHA Loan Articles and Mortgage News
June 9, 2023 - If you are interested in building or buying a home, there is an FHA loan that can help. But if you have never done so, you may worry about your ability to be approved for the mortgage. What can help a borrower’s chances when it’s time for the lender to decide whether to approve or deny their loan?
June 7, 2023 - What can cause your FHA home loan to stop dead in its tracks? There are plenty of deal-breakers for an FHA mortgage to be mindful of, and not all of them are such because they violate FHA loan rules or other regulations.
June 6, 2023 - What steps are the Biden administration and the banks taking? According to a DoD fact sheet, Federal banking agencies are in the process of issuing proposed guidance on how financial institutions may integrate fair appraisal controls into their current processes for a start.
June 3, 2023 - If you’re thinking about buying a home this year and you need to save more money upfront on your down payment, an FHA mortgage is an option to consider thanks to its minimum 3.5% down payment. There are other perks to FHA loans, as we’ll discover in this article.
June 1, 2023 - If you use an FHA One-Time Close construction loan to build a house from the ground up and don’t have a plot of land, you’ll need to purchase the land in conjunction with the construction loan. It’s an expense that may push up the cost of the loan, but a necessary one.
May 30, 2023 - Knowing the down payment rules before you start saving for your home loan may make the entire process more efficient, especially if you know you’re required to give the lender the sources of your down payment money and document it accordingly.
May 27, 2023 - The reasons range from the obvious (low FICO scores) to the not-obvious-at-all (already having one FHA mortgage) and beyond. FHA loan rules say FICO scores between 500 and 579 technically qualify (with a higher down payment), but lender standards also apply.
May 25, 2023 - There are several reasons why a mortgage loan payment might increase. Some borrowers mistakenly assume their home loan payments will never go up, but depending on circumstances, the amount you owe each month may change depending on several variables.
May 24, 2023 - One important thing to know about FHA Rehabilitation Mortgages is that there are two types: one type is the rehab loan you get when you simply want to buy and repair a house, an FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage.
May 23, 2023 - What kind of FHA home loan do you need to buy a home? Do you want to build a home on your own lot from the ground up? That’s the job of an FHA One-Time Close construction loan, which differs from the type of FHA mortgage you need to buy an existing property.
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Learn what your score means.
Homebuyer Terminology
If you’re getting ready to shop around for mortgage options, it’s a good idea to brush up on some of the technical terms in our Mortgage Glossary. You’re going to be hearing a lot of them!
