FHA ACCESS–A SAFE WAY TO 103% FINANCING

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article called Qualifying For a Home Loan: 6 Reasons to Consider FHA.  Not all lenders have been around long enough to remember FHA loans.  Those who have remember the extra requirements that made FHA loans unpopular with sellers.  But it’s a buyer’s market today, and all that has changed.

Last week I originated my first FHA Access loan in 7 years, and I was reminded what a great program it is.  FHA Access is a 2nd loan that pairs with a traditional FHA 1st and covers the 3% down payment and all of the buyer’s closing costs.  The Access loan is an 8%, 20–year fixed rate mortgage for up to 6% of the purchase price.

While FHA loans have no income limits, Access does.  The borrower’s income may not exceed 120% of the median income for the area. For most of the Sacramento region, the limit is $78,480.  That’s pretty generous and shouldn’t be a problem for most people.  FHA loans are no longer subject to strict debt to income ratios—instead we submit them through automated underwriting—Access debt to income ratios cannot exceed 43%.

With all the exploding 100% loans out there, FHA Access offers a path to sustainable home ownership without a big down payment.

Got a comment?  Please leave it below.

Got a question about FHA Access?  Send me an email.


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This entry was posted on Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at 9:01 am     and is filed under 100% Financing, 1st X Buyer, Affordable Payments, FHA/VA, Mortgage Programs. 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.

3 Responses to “FHA Access–A Safe Way to 103% Financing”

LendingClarity.com » Blog Archive » Safe 100% Financing with “My Community” Says:
April 14th, 2007 at 11:06 am
[…] FHA Access–A Safe Way to 103% Financing […]

Nicole Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Isn’t the income limit 140% for CA?

Marc Brinitzer Says:
May 14th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Hey Nicole,

The income limit is 140% of median (by county) for Conventional Access loans. Most lenders don’t even offer these since the up-front MIP is 1.5%. For FHA Access, the income limit is still 120%. But those limits were just raised. In Sacramento, that 120% of median is $80,640.

You can see all the counties here:
http://www.nhfloan.org/pub/access/ACCESSIncomeLimitsCA.pdf