If you are a first-time homebuyer or a buyer who has had a foreclosure in the past couple of years, you may want to look into a federal home loan mortgage. A federal home loan mortgage or FHA Loan is a loan that is provided by a private lender but insured against default by the Federal Housing Administration. This type of loan has some major advantages over traditional mortgage loans.



One advantage that an FHA mortgage has is the more relaxed credit-qualifying guidelines. Because the FHA's mission is to promote home ownership for low to moderate level income level families they can help people get a loan with little or no down payment. Instead of the 10% often required for standard loans a 0%-3% maximum is needed for a federal home loan mortgage.

In the past, regardless of your FICO credit score, you could qualify for a FHA mortgage. Although that is still technically the case today, with the recent government Stimulus Package in 2008, a minimum 580 FICO score has become the generally accepted lower limit for loan approval. The Stimulus Package also raised the maximum loan amounts available significantly on a per county basis. You will need to contact an FHA lender who can tell you the specific maximum amount available in your area.

An FHA mortgage generally has very favorable interest rate and is usually lower than a conventional mortgage. Because the loan is guaranteed against default by the federal government, private lenders are more willing to reduce the interest because their risk has lessened. A lower interest rate means you can save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Another advantage of an FHA loan is that you can still be eligible if you have had a bankruptcy or foreclosure in your past. Eligibility for a new home mortgage requires that the declared bankruptcy occurred at least 2 years ago, foreclosures must have occurred at least 3 years ago and in both cases your credit since that period of time has been good.

Some requirements for an FHA mortgage are that you must have been steadily employed for the past two years and your income should be consistent. You must show that the house you are seeking a mortgage for will be used as your primary residence. You must show that you are responsible in paying bills on time by having credit reports that show less than two 30-day periods of late payments. Also, your monthly mortgage payments cannot exceed 31% of your gross monthly income.

The federal home loan mortgage program has been around since the 1930's Great Depression era. At that time foreclosure rates and loan defaults rose dramatically. The loan program's intent was to provide lenders with a sufficient guarantee that their assets would be protected and thus they could feel reassured to make loans again. The program has been a resounding success and continues to be so today. I urge you to look into this program if you are a first-time buyer or a buyer with less than perfect credit. You can still get a home of your dreams through this program.