It’s never been easy to raise a down payment for FHA mortgages and this year is no different.
The usual ways to get the money needed to buy a home have been to (1) get help from Mom and Dad; (2) eat hot dogs for six years and live like a hermit; (3) land a job in Silicon Valley or – and here’s the big one – (4) look for loans with little down.
For most borrowers FHA financing is the way to go – but only if you qualify.
In its latest quarterly report to Congress, HUD said it insured 1,116,214 mortgages in fiscal 2015 – that’s up from 786,354 loans in fiscal 2014. Why the big jump? Simple. The FHA lowered its annual mortgage insurance premium from 1.35 percent to .85 percent, a half percent reduction.