You cannot turn on the news without seeing a new headline trumpeting the meltdown of the mortgage industry. Obtaining a conventional mortgage is becoming more difficult by the minute. Qualification guidelines are arguably tighter than they have ever been.
This meltdown is occurring at the same time a record number of adjustable rate mortgages are set to begin their rate adjustments. Because these ARMs usually had initial teaser rates that were artificially low, if you have an adjustable rate mortgage there is a near 100% chance that your rate will be going up. Most of the time, this first rate adjustment will be several percentage points. It is not uncommon right now for a mortgage that has had an interest rate in the low 5’s to be adjusting up to the 8 or 8.5 percent range! If you have a subprime loan, this increase may be from 6.5 percent to 9.5 percent or more! Borrowers who are unprepared for this will have their mortgage end up as part of the delinquency rate statistics talked about on the evening news.
If you do not fit into the new tighter conventional mortgage guidelines because of credit problems or because your home’s value has not risen as quickly as you planned, there may be a very good option if your loan amount is below $346,250 in more populated Georgia counties and $271,050 in more rural Georgia counties. That solution is to use an FHA loan.
FHA loans allow borrowers to refinance even with higher ratios of debt in relationship to total income. FHA loans allow you to qualify for a mortgage even if you have experienced past credit problems just as long as there is a good explanation for the problems and the problems have been cured or a new mortgage will help cure them. FHA loans also allow a loan amount can go as high as 97% of the value of your home when necessary.
If you live in Georgia and your current mortgage is an adjustable rate mortgage with an imminent rate increase, don’t give up. Contact a Georgia HUD approved FHA lender and find out if the FHA option is available in your situation. You will certainly be glad you did.