FHA Mortgage Rates And Pricing Adjustments On Interest Rates

This BLOG On FHA Mortgage Rates And Pricing Adjustments On Interest Rates Was UPDATED On December 15th, 2018

FHA mortgage rates have been steadily for the past year. Mortgage rates on FHA loans have been historically low. This is due to HUD, the parent of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), guaranteeing FHA Loans. HUD insures lenders in the event borrower defaults on their FHA Loans and goes into foreclosure.

A 3.25% fixed-rate 30-year mortgage is probably the lowest rate on record which was back in 2013
However, FHA rates do fluctuate like Conventional or other mortgage loans
The rapid spike in FHA rates have hurt millions of mortgage loan borrowers who have not locked their mortgage rates to refinance their home loans
Refinance borrowers need to make sure that they lock their FHA Rates early before they can spike up
FHA Rates not locked can delay closing their mortgage loans because they could no longer obtain a net tangible benefit
Increase in mortgage rates means an increase in their mortgage payment

In this article, we will cover and discuss Rates And Pricing Adjustments On Interest Rates on FHA Loans.

Higher DTI Due To Higher Rates

One of the advantages of FHA versus conventional mortgage loans is that FHA loans have lenient mortgage underwriting guidelines.

With conventional mortgage loans, the maximum debt to income ratio allowed is 50% to get an approve/eligible per Automated Underwriting System (AUS)
However, with FHA loans, the maximum debt to income ratio allowed is 56.9% back end DTI and the maximum front end DTI allowed is 46.9%
The above DTI Caps apply for borrowers with at least a 620 FICO Credit Score

Under 620 FICO credit scores, FHA DTI Cap is at 43% for it to render an approve/eligible per AUS Findings.

Debt To Income Ratios Explained

The Debt to income ratio is the total amount of monthly payments you have divided by the total monthly gross income.

For example, here is a case scenario:

if a consumer has a monthly automobile loan payment is $200
credit card payment of $100
and proposed new mortgage housing payment will be $800 which includes property taxes, mortgage insurance, and property insurance
The total monthly payment is $1,000
Now, let’s say gross monthly income is $2,000
To calculate borrowers debt to income ratio is calculated by taking the borrower’s $1,000 monthly expenses and dividing it by gross income of $2,000 which yields 50% debt to income ratio

Borrowers would qualify FHA mortgage loan on the above case scenario.

Higher FHA Rates Means Higher Monthly Payment

Folks who got devastated when interest rates spiked affecting those borrowers who had a high debt to income ratios. Back in May 2013 is when FHA Mortgage rates started to climb with no correction.

A $10 increase in monthly payment can disqualify a mortgage loan borrower with borderline debt to income ratios
Maximum allowed DTI limit allowed by FHA mortgage guidelines is 46.9% front end DTI and 56.9% back end DTI to get an approve/eligible per AUS FINDINGS
56.9% is the maximum debt to income ratio allowed for automated approval
Anything over 46.9%/56.9% DTI threshold will not render an automated approval
No exception

Factors That Determine FHA Mortgage Rates

FHA mortgage rates are determined by these factors:

Credit Scores
Type of Property
Loan Size

Loan To Value (LTV) is not a determinant on FHA Mortgage Rates like they are on Conventional Loans. The reason being is because HUD guarantees against default if the borrower goes into foreclosure. However, in order for HUD to insure FHA Loans, lenders need to make sure that borrower and property meet FHA Guidelines.

Related> FHA Mortgage Guidelines

Related> Mortgage Rates