FHA loan questions, where to ask them...

[Blake King]

Hello everyone! I have a lot of questions on first time homebuyer FHA loans, and I'm not quite sure where to go to ask them. Does anyone have experience using these? Specifically for duplex / triplex etc.? Where did you go to acquire it? Hopefully that's not too broad... Thanks everyone!

[Jeff Brower]

You're in the perfect spot! Ask away! Ill get you started. 1-4 units are all the same for FHA, 3.5% down. You have to move into the property for at least one year, and must be in within 60 days of closing. After your year is up, you can move out and keep the loan in place if you so chose. You can use an FHA more than once, but you can only have one at a time. Rates right now I believe are around 3.75%, but they are expected to rise a little bit this year. Some lenders will allow you to use rents from the non- owner unit to help qualify in your debt to income ratio. If they do, then you can use 75% of the appraised rent or actual rent on leases, whichever is lesser. Most regular banks like chase and bank of america will not count this income from the other units until you have two years of history as claiming the income on your taxes. Your debt to income ratio must meet their qualifications for front end (house debt only) and back end (all recurrent debts). 31% is the current front end, 43% is the back end. Meaning that the house monthly PITI (principal, interest, tax, insurance) must not exceed 31% of your monthly income and your total debts including the home must not exceed 43% of your income.

Much more to explain, but I don't know what you don't know. Ask away!