Home Mortgage Loan Rates | Home mortgage loans

If you are a first-time homebuyer or a buyer who has had a foreclosure in the past couple of years, you may want to look into a federal home loan mortgage. A federal home loan mortgage or FHA Loan is a loan that is provided by a private lender but insured against default by the Federal Housing Administration. This type of loan has some major advantages over traditional mortgage loans.One advantage that an FHA mortgage has is the more relaxed credit-qualifying guidelines. Because the FHA’s mission is to promote home ownership for low to moderate level income level families they can help people get a loan with little or no down payment. Instead of the 10% often required for standard loans a 0%-3% maximum is needed for a federal home loan mortgage.In the past, regardless of your FICO credit score, you could qualify for a FHA mortgage. Although that is still technically the case today, with the recent government Stimulus Package in 2008, a minimum 580 FICO score has become the generally accepted lower limit for loan approval. The Stimulus Package also raised the maximum loan amounts available significantly on a per county basis. You will need to contact n FHA lender who can tell you the specific maximum amount available in your area.An FHA mortgage generally has very favorable interest rate and is usually lower than a conventional mortgage. Because the loan is guaranteed against default by the federal government, private lenders are more willing to reduce the interest because their risk has lessened. A lower interest rate means you can save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.Another advantage of an FHA loan is that you can still be eligible if you have had a bankruptcy or foreclosure in your past.