Best place to go for an FHA loan? - Just starting out!

[Ryan Fitzgerald]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a newbie to all of this and I've done some research over the past few months... Already made my first mistake. So for those of you reading and not participating here is the mistake I made I encourage you not to...

Mistake #1

I assumed that my bank offered FHA loans so I went online and filled out the application to see what I could be approved for and after they put a hard credit inquiry on my credit report I found out they don't offer FHA loans.

Can only assume I will make many more mistakes along the way, thank god for BiggerPockets to help reduce them! :)

For those of you who have done an FHA loan before who did you use and what was your experience like... or what is your recommendation?

Thanks in advance!!

Ryan

[Account Closed]

@Ryan Fitzgerald

Congrats and goodluck Newbie!

One question I have is what type of property are you buying? FHA loans are for properties you intend to occupy. Assuming that's the case here, many large banks such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America offer FHA loans. You may also want to search for a Full Service Mortgage Banker or Direct Lender in your area to compare rates with.

Some local/community banks can offer great Investor loans and some do not offer FHA products. So, before you fill out any loan applications or run your credit, it's important you have a conversation with the loan officer of the bank and ask what they offer. They can tell you what products they have and even give you estimated interest rates and terms such as down payment qualifications WITHOUT you filling out an application or having your credit ran.

Lastly, now that you have had your credit ran, you have the right to request a copy of your credit report from the bank you did that with. You can use this report to share your fico's and other financial information with the next bank or mortgage company you check out to get a more precise idea of rate and terms for different loan products, until you're ready to proceed.