With the roller coaster ride that is today’s real estate and mortgage markets, government loans are on the rise. There is a revived interest in the Federal Housing Administration’s loans among low income and first time home buyers. After a three-year slump, FHA loans have increased over 8% year-to-date.

There are downsides that have held back FHA loans:

1. Low mortgage limits. The current FHA maximum for a single family home is $362,790. This means it is easy to get an FHA loan in Ohio but almost impossible in California where the median price state wide is over $500,000.

2. Down payment. FHA requires 3% down. People are used to no down loans.

3. Paperwork. It takes a lot longer to go through the FHA process than it did with conventional lenders. So long to closing in a matter of days or a week.

If you are a first time home buyer or need a loan under $362,790 or have a minimum of 3% down plus closing costs, then FHA maybe for you!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 26th, 2007 at 5:00 am and is filed under General Interests. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.