22308 S Ellsworth Rd Queen Creek AZ 85142
Great New Loan Program for Buyers!
I am sure you may have heard from others about this. I wanted to get the facts before sending this out to you! We a great conference call yesterday direct with FHA and here is what the new “Back to Work” program looks like.
Homeowners that have been forced into a bankruptcy, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure and/or a foreclosure over the past few years now have the option to become homeowners once again within 1 year (current time frames are 2 years for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, 3 years for most Short Sales and 3 years for Foreclosures). FHA has released a new program that allows eligible borrowers to buy 1 year after a bankruptcy, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure. FHA is calling this new make sense mortgage program the “Back to Work” program.
This new FHA based program was established by FHA to help people that realized a reduction in income as a result of the recession. If a borrower meets FHA’s program specific criteria they will be eligible for a new FHA loan and may buy 1 year after a bankruptcy, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure. How does a client qualify for this new program? Below are a few key “Back to Work” FHA mortgage guidelines:
Basic program guidelines:
1. Borrower(s) must have sustained a reduction in income of at least 20%
2. Borrower’s reduction in income must have lasted for at least 6 months
3. Borrower’s income reduction must be related to an “economic event” (in other words employment circumstances beyond their control - layoff, termination, reduction in hours/overtime, pay cut etc…)
4. Borrower’s bankruptcy, short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure must have been directly related to the reduction in income and economic event
5. Borrower must have re-established credit within the 12 months after the bankruptcy discharge date, short sale completion date and/or foreclosure recording date
*NOTE: Clients that are utilizing this program will also be required to complete specific home buyer education (details to follow soon)
Getting Qualified for the New FHA Program:
It will be up to the client’s new mortgage lender to document and determine that the borrower meets these new guidelines. Most mortgage lender’s have NOT yet interpreted FHA’s guidance/new guidelines relative to this new program. This means that HUD/FHA has in fact changed their rules so that lenders can now originate loans based on this program. However lenders still need to determine how they are going to handle these types of loans. Much of that will be based on how investors that mortgage lenders sell these loans to plan on handling this type of mortgage.
Feel free to reach out to us now that may possibly benefit from this program: I am happy to start educating them on the possible benefits of FHA’s new “Back to Work” program.
One more thing - If a client does meet the “Back to Work” guidelines that are eventually set forth by lenders the client will also need to meet basic FHA mortgage guidelines such as debt to income ratio, loan to value/down payment (3.5%) and minimum credit score in order to qualify to buy 1 year after a bankruptcy, short sale deed in lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure.
*NOTE: Lenders may set forth different guidelines (different than traditional FHA guidelines) relative to this program. For example, a client may need a higher credit score and/or lower debt to income ratio when compared to traditional FHA guidelines.
