With recent lending changes, FHA may be the right option for more buyers (and sellers)!

“The appraisals are more strict. The rate is higher. The borrower isn’t as well qualified.” These are all statements we know have been made about FHA loans in the past — you might have even heard or said this yourself recently. Key Mortgage is here today to help bust some of these myths and share some insights on why FHA may be a better option now and how you can take this information to create more opportunities to gain sellers and buyers.

With the recent changes, Fannie and Freddie have made pricing changes to make homeownership more attainable for first-time homebuyers and to lower to moderate-income buyers. FHA loans may provide a substantially lower interest rate and a lower FHA monthly mortgage insurance premium may make it an even better option.

Let’s address the myths that are still out there:

• FHA appraisals are more difficult than conventional – False. FHA does want to make sure the health and safety of its borrowers is front and center, and that can require a few additional items to be addressed, but Fannie and Freddie have both focused on health and safety items and are bringing appraisal requirements to be more in-line with FHA.

• The borrower must not be as well qualified – False. As mentioned before, with the pricing differences and the lowering of the FHA mortgage insurance insurance premium, now more than ever, borrowers are choosing an FHA loan because it’s financially the better option – even when they are qualified for a conventional loan.

So how can you as an agent benefit from an FHA loan? By far the single largest opportunity is in the condominium space. By working with Key Mortgage, you can offer the ability to get a single condo unit approved for a potential buyer or get the entire building(s) approved which could open up opportunities for marketing to potential buyers or sellers.

Education is the name of the game – we need to educate our sellers, buyers and other agents not to be wary of an FHA loan. Partner with a Key Mortgage loan officer to gain the advantage over your competition.