Looking for More Information on FHA Requirements

[Tim Crosby]

Hello everyone!

So for the last few weeks or so, I've been looking at buying my first duplex. The original idea was to house-hack using an FHA loan in addition to a down payment assistance program offered in my area. We found a house that needed some work and thought this would be the perfect house, given our current situation.

While we were drafting the offer, we realized that the home didn't qualify for the FHA program for one reason or another. We thought that might still be okay, so we looked at other loan options and realized the only other way was for me to put down about $6,000 in total for closing costs, deposits, inspections and surveys. Now, before you say that I should have gotten the closing cost wrapped up into the loan amount... we couldn't do that.

This particular home was under the Fannie Mae Homepath program which limits the total amount of money you can have wrapped into the loan. The remainder was about $4,000 plus the normal costs incurred while going through the normal process - that's how we get to the total number of $6,000.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to pass on this particular house because I don't have the money to make the offer. I could get the money, but it will take time. I even tried withdrawing some credit from the Bank of Mom, but alas, the bank was tapped out and the best I could muster was about $2,000. This house has many offers on it already, so for me, it's just not an option. It's sad because I think it would've been an amazing deal, but it's over and we're moving on.

I say all this to try and give you an idea of how much time was spent working on this deal. Before we move on to the next property, I have some questions about the FHA requirements. What I don't want is to have happen is what happened here. After speaking to my broker, I've come to the conclusion that we need to stick within the parameters of the FHA program. I know some things about this, but not enough. For example, I know that we must have heating and cooling, even thouh we're in Florida. I also know that since we're looking at multi-family properties, they have to be under one roof. I looked at a property previously that had separate buildings, but that doesn't qualify. Beyond that, I don't know what else to look for. If anyone can expand on those parameters or point me in the right direction, that'd be great!!

Thanks in advance!
Tim