FHA Home Loan Mortgage Details

Below are some quick details and benefits of the FHA home loan in Florida:

FHA home loans require only 3.5% down payment for home purchases – up to 96.5% financing.
FHA offers many flexible refinancing options for existing home owners.
FHA home loans are secure and backed by the US Government and have NO prepayment penalty.
Home buyers can use gift funds to help pay for down payment and closing costs expenses.
Closing costs can also be paid by the seller of the home.
Qualifying for a FHA loan with lower credit scores is possible. *Please note, current min. required credit score is 620 for max 96.5% FHA financing*
FHA home loans are secure fixed terms at low market interest rates. Interest rates are very comparable to conventional loans that require a large down payment.
No household income restrictions.
FHA home loans are for ANY new & existing single family residence, townhome or FHA approved condo. The property being purchased can be a regular sale, short sale, foreclosure home, etc. We currently DO NOT offer any loans on mobile or manufactured homes.
Co-signers and non-occupying home buyers are also permitted!

FHA Loan Limits:

Florida FHA home loans do have maximum loan amount limits depending on the Florida county/location of your new home. Nearly all the counties in Florida have a maximum loan limit of at least $271,050. Some Florida counties to the south (Monroe County, Collier County, Broward County, Manatee County, Palm Beach County) have maximum loan amount limits of at least $420,000 and as has high as $729,750. Please click here to look up your county loan limit.

FHA Mortgage Insurance:

FHA home loans require a one-time upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) of 1.75% that is rolled into the borrowers loan. In addition to this, FHA home loans have a monthly premium as well. The monthly premium depends on the loan terms (30 yr, 15 yr, etc) and down payment you choose, please see the chart below – (updated April 2012)

30, 25, or 20 Year Fix Rate FHA
Loan to Value	Annual Premium
Over 95%	125 bps of loan amount
Under 95%	120 bps of loan amount
15 or 10 Year Fix Rate FHA
Over 95%	60 bps of loan amount
Under 95%	35 bps of loan amount

Example of the monthly mortgage insurance costs based on the chart above:

Sales price of your new home = $100,000

You have decided to use the FHA 30 year fix rate with a 3.5% down payment = $3,500

Loan amount = $96,500

Based on this scenario, your FHA monthly mortgage insurance costs would be:

$96,500 x .0125 = $1,206.25. Divide $1,206.25 by 12 = $100.52 your monthly insurance costs.

Note – Monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP) may be canceled prior to payoff of your loan. For 30-year fix loans, monthly MIP must be paid for a minimum of 5 years and then canceled when loan to value of your home declines to 78%. For 15 year fix loans, monthly MIP may be dropped when LTV reaches 78% – no specific number of payments must have been made.

Example for calculating the one-time 1.75% upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP):

Sales price of your new home = $100,000

Min. FHA down payment required is 3.5% = $3,500

Loan amount = $96,500

One time upfront FHA mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% ($1,688.75) added to your loan:

$96,500 + $1,688.75 = $98,188.75 your new final adjusted loan amount.

Note – the upfront (one-time) 1.75% FHA mortgage insurance premium can be paid separate or financed into the loan. This fee is most commonly financed or “rolled into” your new loan as stated in the example above.

FHA Credit Requirements :

Credit requirements for all home loans have been changing rapidly over the past few years. FHA home loans currently require a 620-640 minimum credit score for the maximum 96.5% financing. The required minimum FHA credit score is slightly less for those homebuyers that are putting at least 5% or more down payment. These minimum credit score requirements alone do not guarantee FHA financing as there are certain separate requirements in place regarding bankruptcy, judgments, short sales and past foreclosures. As stated above the FHA credit requirements do change frequently, so feel free to submit your information request form (on the upper right side of your screen) and ask our FHA Loan Specialist for the latest credit requirements.

FHA Non Occupying Co-Borrowers & Gift Funds:

FHA will permit a co-signer that is not living in the home, unlike conventional loans in which the borrower needs to meet certain qualifying ratios even if they have a co-signer. This can be an advantage for Florida first time homebuyers that need some additional income to help qualify. However, co-signers with good credit cannot overcome the bad credit of the primary borrower. This means the qualifying credit score used will be the lower of the primary borrower and co-signer. The co-signer is generally required to be a family member or guardian.

With FHA loans, 100% of the co-signers income can be used no matter how much money the borrower makes. This also can help the borrower to achieve the maximum fha loan limit depending on what county that they are purchasing. Each county has different FHA loan amount limits. By having a co-signer, this can help those borrowers that might have some income that they cannot properly document, knowing they can still make the higher mortgage payment. One thing to keep in mind is that co-signers debt is also used in this equation. If their debt is extremely high, the co-signer might not help the situation.

As for gift funds, FHA does permit the home buyer to use gift money for their down payment. Generally the buyer will need to provide proof of the gift funds (canceled check, deposit proof, etc) in addition a gift letter will be needed showing no re payment of the gift is necessary.

We are always happy to answer your questions about the FHA qualification and assist you with your FHA home loan pre-approval application. To expedite your request, please fill out the short information request form (located on the right side of your screen) an FHA Mortgage Specialist will contact you today. You can also call us 7 days a week/ 9am-8pm at 904.302.6060. See why FHA Mortgage Source is Florida’s leading resource for all Government home loans.

Serving all of Florida including Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville FL.

Please be sure to visit our FHA News page here for the latest FHA home loan info.

Looking to purchase a home outside of the major city in a more rural location? Please be sure check into the 100% USDA Home Loan by clicking here. USDA Rural Housing 100% home loan available in select rural locations around Florida.

All other Florida mortgage options, please click here.