Whether you're a first time home buyer, moving to a new home or refinancing your existing FHA mortgage, an FHA insured loan will let you purchase a home with a low down payment and flexible guidelines. With no income limits or credit scoring, many people who can afford the monthly mortgage payments and have reasonable credit will qualify for an FHA loan. With the rise of foreclosed and REO homes, an important loan option is the

FHA 203(k) Renovation Rehab Loan:

An important tool for community and neighborhood revitalization, the FHA 203(k) loan offers flexible qualifying and low down payments:

• FHA down payment (currently 3.5%)
• Flexible credit qualifying
• Finance up to 6 months of mortgage payments
• Purchase or Refinance and Improve all in one loan

The 203(k) loan program offers borrowers the resources to rehabilitate a home that may be in need of repair, either the home that they currently live in, or that special fixer-upper opportunity. One single loan is used to pay for the purchase (or refinance) and the cost of renovating the home.

Made available to certain lenders by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the FHA 203(k) program has already provided many buyers with the funds necessary to buy their first home, or greatly improve a move-up home. The FHA 203(k) loan is available to borrowers of all income levels, to homeowners who plan to occupy the house, and for homes with one to four units.

• 203K Eligible Borrowers:
• Owner Occupants - Purchase - Refinance
• Eligible Properties:
• Single family dwellings
• Condominium (no more than four units in building allowed)
• Townhouse
• Mixed Use (Storefront)
• 1-4 Unit buildings- you can increase or decrease the number of units with this loan.
• Structural Alteration and Reconstruction:
• Changes for improved functions and modernization
• Elimination of health/safety hazards
• Changes for aesthetic appeal
• Plumbing, heating air conditioning, and electrical upgrades
• Well and/or septic repairs
• Roofing, gutters and downspouts
• Flooring, tiling and carpeting
• Energy conservation improvements
• Major landscape work and site improvement
• Access for the disabled
• Home Inspection:
  The cost of your construction is estimated by an FHA Approved 203(k) consultant (estimator). The cost consultant assists you in determining the scope of repairs and the costs budgeted for the renovation job.
• Perform a home inspection to create preliminary costs estimates based upon FHA minimum property standards plus the scope of work as defined by the home owner/buyer.
• Once project has been determined, the cost consultant prepares a "work-write up".
• Appraisal:
  The appraiser will be given a copy of your "work-write up" to estimate an after improved value for your new home or current home. We loan against that improved value thus giving you credit for the work to be performed.
• Other Eligible Costs:
  (THESE COSTS MAY BE FINANCED INTO THE MORTGAGE LOAN)
• Contingency reserve (10%-20%)
• Up to 6 months PITI mortgage payments
• Permit costs
• Consultant fees
• Inspection and title update fees
• Architectural & Engineering fees (if needed)

Working with rehabilitation financing has led us into areas that most mortgage companies are unfamiliar with. We consistently finance, for example, "un-insured" FHA foreclosed properties that are distressed and in need of repair. We work with "first-time" rehabbers...firemen, police officers, bakers, accountants, and others. Ironically, many of our renovation clients are employees of banks or other mortgage companies. They come to us for their renovation projects because they know we are the "gold standard" in this area. When other lenders say that they cannot close the loan because the property does not meet minimum standards, and when other lenders say the borrower cannot qualify for whatever reason, we frequently create solutions that other lenders are not versed in and close the deal.