Loan Modification

FHA mortgages: Get an FHA lender, use an FHA loan officer

By Gina Pogol

My husband is a loan officer specializing in very high-end home purchase and construction lending. He’s an excellent loan officer with over a decade of experience, a great rep,  lots of pretty award thingies on his wall and a ton of expertise in his chosen mortgage financing niche.

The joke in his office is that my husband cannot spell FHA.

FHA loans are different. Only an FHA-approved lender can originate, underwrite, approve, and fund an FHA mortgage. Anyone else will have to broker it, submit a package, and pray. You are better off going to the source — a lender that is continually monitored by HUD that has proven itself and works to maintain that valuable approval.

But within every FHA-approved lender are loan officers, some who specialize in FHA lending and some who rarely see these loans. Hint: You want the experienced ones. The experienced ones can tell you if a condo project would pass muster with FHA and how long it would take to get it on the approved list. The experienced ones can help your immigrant parents who never had a checking account get their first home loan. The experienced ones can help you decide whether accepting a new job offer would jeopardize your FHA loan approval, or tell you what your chances of loan approval 24 months into a Chapter 13 plan are.

Finally, there is a difference between the typical FHA home buyer and a jumbo mortgage buyer, or the experienced property investor. Your FHA loan officer expects to furnish plain English explanations of forms like “FHA Amendatory Clause” and likely expects to accompany you to the closing table to answer any last minute questions. A loan agent who works with seasoned real estate buyers may forget that most people are not that comfortable or familiar with the process, or may assume that you know more than you do. An experienced FHA mortgage originator is less likely to do that.

So when you shop for your next FHA mortgage, get several quotes from approved FHA lenders. Then talk to individual loan agents within the organizations and go with one who knows his or her stuff.

Full post as published by FHA Mortgage Guide on March 07, 2011 (boomark / email).