United Housing Offering FHA Mortgage Refinance Opportunity

United Housing is offering refinances on all 30-year Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loans obtained after April 18, 2011. In early January, The White House announced the reduction of annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums by 0.5%, from 1.35% to 0.85%.

“The FHA’s streamlined refinance should allow for a smooth and quick transition to lower our customers’ mortgage insurance premiums,” said Priscilla Reed, Special Projects Coordinator at United Housing. “The little work required up front will in turn save borrowers approximately $80 per month, or about $900 per year, depending on where you live.”

For a borrower to obtain the FHA refinance through United Housing, they must have the following:

• A credit score of 580 or greater.
• An FHA mortgage for at least six months between April 18, 2011 and December 31, 2014.

A borrower does not need to have an appraisal or income documentation, as there are no income limits, and all fees will be added back into the loan amount. Additionally, the borrower must provide the following:

• Copy of Note
• Copy of the most recent mortgage statement
• Copy of the payoff or demand statement
• Note: Additional documents may be required.

Once United Housing obtains the borrower’s information, the organization will send it to its lender partner and fellow NeighborWorks America organization, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE). A team at CNE will pull credit, providing the borrower pays the credit check fees, and then the loan will be processed. The borrower will then close with a local attorney to complete the process, which should take about 10 days.

According to the White House report, in addition to saving people an average of $900 annually, the FHA is projecting that more than 800,000 borrowers will take advantage of these lower rates in the first year alone. The lowered premiums will create opportunities for 250,000 new homeowners to purchase a home over the next three years. New home buying activity will spur more residential construction and new jobs in the housing sector, further strengthening the market. Learn more in The White House release here.

Visit the links below for more information on the FHA refinance opportunity.

• The White House Blog
• The New York Times