FHA Streamline Frequently Asked Questions & Answers Q: Do I have to refinance with my current lender to take advantage of this program? No. You may use any approved FHA lender to complete a FHA streamlined refinance on your New Jersey property. Q: Am I still eligible for a FHA streamline refinance if I owe more on my mortgage than my home is worth? Yes. No appraisals are required, so the current value of your home is not factored in for approval. Q: Can I still qualify for a FHA Streamline refinance if I have been late on mortgage payments? You need to be current on your mortgage payments at closing and have a good record of payments for the last 12 months. Q: Can a FHA Streamline refinance stop foreclosure on my New Jersey Home? No. You must be current on your home loan in order to refinance with this program. Q: Are vacation homes or investment properties eligible for FHA streamline loans? According to the FHA, primary residences, second homes and investment properties in New Jersey qualify for streamlined FHA refinancing. HOWEVER, most lenders will NOT fund second homes or investment properties. Please give us a call at 908-221-0304 Ext. 305 to discuss other options for your second home or investment property. Q: Can I remove an ex-spouse or add a new one when I refinance? Yes you can do both. Q: What if my condominium lost FHA approval since I took out my original loan? Providing no appraisal is used your property is still eligible to be refinanced. Q: How can I qualify for a ‘no-cost’ FHA streamline loan? You either have the choice of paying any applicable closing costs out of pocket so that your loan balance is not increased or paying a slightly higher interest rate and having the lender pay for your closing costs. Q: Can I qualify for a FHA streamline refinance if I lost my job or my income has gone down? FHA does not require any employment or income verification or the calculation of debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. However, lenders often overlay their own additional criteria meaning 95% of these loans will require some form of income verification to show that you can afford the new payments. Give us a call at 908-221-0304 Ext. 305 to discuss your specific situation and options available. Q: What is the minimum credit score for a FHA streamline refinance in New Jersey? Again, FHA itself has no credit score requirement and does not even require a credit report is pulled. However, individual lenders have their own guidelines. Many require a minimum credit score of 640, though others will accept scores of 620 or even less. If you have issues with your credit, don’t give up. Give us a call at 908-221-0304 Ext. 305 so we can discuss your current credit situation. Q: Will I have to make any repairs to my property in order to get a loan? No. Unless an appraisal is used and your home has lead based paint, no repairs are required to be made. Q: What is MI? MI stands for mortgage insurance. Mortgage insurance is required on FHA loans with an 80% or higher loan-to-value to protect the lender from losses. MI rates on FHA loans were reduced on June 11th 2012 to help more New Jersey borrowers qualify for streamlined refinances and lower their housing payments providing their loans were endorsed on or before May 31st, 2009. Q: What if I have already refinanced my FHA loan? The FHA requires that borrowers make 6 mortgage payments on their current FHA-insured loan, and that 210 days pass from the most recent closing date, in order to be eligible for a Streamline Refinance. Q: Can I refinance from a fixed rate home loan to an ARM? Yes. New Jersey home owners can either refinance from an adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate or even from a fixed to an ARM. Q: I have a question. How do I contact you? Feel free to call us at 908-221-0304 Ext. 305 or Click Here to submit a question through our website. Find out if you qualify for a FHA Streamline refinance today and receive a no-obligation, customized rate quote to see how much money you can start saving…
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