FHA Loan Refinance

How Much Can I Refinance With My FHA-Insured Mortgage? 

 Must I Re-qualify to Refinance With an FHA Loan (FHA Mortgage)?

You've already been through the mortgage qualification process when you qualified for a conventional mortgage or for an FHA-insured mortgage. The kind of refinance loan you select will determine whether you need to go through the credit-qualifying process again. 

What have you heard about qualifying for an FHA-insured Loan? 

• You need perfect credit? Not true!
• Your credit score has to be at least 650? Not true!
• You can never have declared bankruptcy or experienced a foreclosure? Not true!

To decide how much you can refinance, lenders look at:

• Your income.
• Your other monthly expenses.
• Your credit history (this is important, but FHA's credit standards are very flexible).
• Your overall pattern rather than to individual problems you may have had.

Don't let the lender's requests upset you. They're responsible for determining if you qualify for an FHA-insured loan and must know:

• How much you earn.
• Where you've worked.
• If you've had credit problems in the past, they'll need to know why.
• Whether you're single, married, or divorced.

While only a lender can actually qualify you for a refinance, you should get a pretty good idea of whether you might be approved if you follow the steps outlined here. You might even become pre-qualified for an FHA-insured loan!

FHA Refinance Loan Basics 

Here are a couple key facts about FHA-insured loans:
 

Maximum loan amount: Click to see what the limit is in the county or U.S. territory in which you're interested.

Minimum/Maximum financing: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) increased the loan limits of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) up to $729,750.The new minimum ($271,050) and maximum loan limits are based on 65 percent and 175 percent of the conforming loan limits for Government-Sponsored Enterprises in 2008, which is $417,000. The change in loan limits is applicable to all FHA-insured mortgage loans originated until December 31, 2009.