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Pennsylvania Home Loan
Pennsylvania Home Buying with FHA
East coast residents should compare Pennsylvania home loan options, because our FHA lenders are guaranteeing the best rate for purchase or refinance loans. Pennsylvania home values still down from two years ago in most counties. So, now is the time to take advantage of the buyer’s market. Under the Economic Stimulus Act, the FHA temporarily raised its loan limits. New FHA loan limits range from $271,050 to $420,000 for single-family homes. They previously started at $200,160. Take advantage of this now because the lending limits will lower some on January 1, 2009, when the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 limits take effect. The median price of a home in Pennsylvania is $211,500, so the FHA lending limits are plenty high enough for you to buy a moderately-priced Pennsylvania home.
According to Fannie Mae, 50% of sub-prime borrowers could have qualified for lower-cost, conventional Mortgage Loan financing, saving them each an average of $200,000 over the life of a 30-year loan. Imagine how much they would save with a FHA loan. There are many other advantages to FHA home buying in Pennsylvania.
FHA Loans Are Great for First Time Homebuyers
Pennsylvania Cities ranked by population
Philadelphia 1,449,634
Pittsburgh 311,218
Allentown 107,117
Erie 103,650
Reading 80,769
Bethlehem 72,531
Scranton 72,485
Lancaster 54,672
Levittown 53,500
Harrisburg 47,196
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA has been helping low- and moderate-income buyers since 1934. When buying a home, one of the biggest barriers is the requirement most traditional lenders have that requires you to have at least a 20% down payment. With FHA you only need 3% for the down-payment!
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a state located in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States of America. As of 2005 the state has the 17th largest economy in the world.
Pennsylvania home purchase loans with FHA can save you money, especially if you have a few dings in your credit. To qualify for a conventional home loan, under the stricter lending standards, you need a FICO credit score of at least 660 if you’re putting 20% down. If you have less than 20% start-up equity, you’ll need a score of at least 700 to qualify. With FHA, you only need a score of at least 580, and you only need a 3% down payment. You get low fixed interest rates with FHA. And, you could do a FHA streamline refinance if the interest rates drop.
Buying a Foreclosure Home in Pennsylvania
The primary method of mortgage foreclosure in Pennsylvania is judicial. This means that it could take four (4) months or more from the time a property owner receives a notice of default until the property is sold at a public foreclosure auction sale. Once the home is sold, the lender must seek a deficiency judgment within 6 months of the confirmed foreclosure sale if the home sells for less than what the borrower owed on the mortgage. Sometimes you can get a great deal on a Pennsylvania foreclosure. There are actually three windows of opportunity for house foreclosure investment: pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and bank REO properties. Each has its advantages and degree of risk.
The pre-foreclosure is when you buy the home anytime before it goes to the foreclosure auction. It’s a foreclosure if you purchased it at the auction. If no one else buys the property at the auction, the property "reverts" to the lender and becomes real estate owned (REO).
Anti-Predatory Lending Laws Enacted
In July of 2002, Pennsylvania law enacted a set of anti-predatory lending laws in order to help protect Pennsylvania homebuyers from predatory lenders. Some of the provisions of this new set of laws include the prohibition of a lender charging points and fees in excess of 6% of the total principal financed amount, the prohibition of a mortgage company issuing a loan to a borrower in an amount that the borrower could not reasonably afford to repay, and the prohibition of the financing of single-premium credit insurance, among others.
