FHA Mortgage Guide

Published reports have recently stated that the FHA monthly insurance premium (MIP) cannot be cancelled and that it lasts the life of the loan. This old cancellation policy does not apply to FHA loans made after January 2001.

According to HUD Mortgagee Letter 00-38:

“In the past, some FHA borrowers have paid annual mortgage insurance premiums throughout the life of their mortgages. Effective for all loans closed on or after January 1, 2001, FHA’s annual mortgage insurance premiums will be automatically canceled under the following conditions:

*For mortgages with terms more than 15 years, the annual mortgage insurance premiums will be canceled when the loan to value ratio reaches 78 percent, provided the mortgagor has paid the annual mortgage insurance premiums for at least five years.

*For mortgages with terms 15 years and less and with loan to value ratios 90 percent and greater, the annual mortgage insurance premiums will be canceled when the loan to value ratio reaches 78 percent, irrespective of the length of time the mortgagor has paid the annual mortgage premiums.

*Mortgages with terms 15 years and less and with loan to value ratios of 89.99 percent and less will not be charged annual mortgage insurance premiums.

Since most FHA mortgages, and most mortgages generally, are repaid before original loan balances fall 22 percent, this FHA policy may not seen as though it has much value. However, there are people who have their loans for many years and for them this is a good policy.

Check out these FHA resources for more information

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 at 1:30 am and is filed under FHA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.