FHA Streamline Refinances: Too Good To Be True?

With mortgage rates at very attractive lows, many homeowners are seeking to refinance their existing mortgages to take advantage of the savings that lower rates bring.  While low rates are good news, if your current mortgage is an FHA mortgage, there’s great news for you: FHA offers Streamline Refinances, which are the fastest, easiest way for FHA-backed homeowners to take advantage of these amazing rates.

The first enticing factor of the FHA Streamline Refinance, especially when considering how home values have fallen in the past four years, is that you don’t have to have your home re-appraised to qualify.  In fact, the FHA Streamline Refinance program uses the appraisal on your home that was done when you originally purchased it, regardless of how much your home’s value might have fallen due to tough economic times.  For homeowners who live in Florida, one of the worst-hit areas when the housing market bubble burst, this is incredibly good news.  In fact, these types of “underwater” mortgages are exactly the types of mortgages that the program was created to attract.

What’s more is that the FHA Streamline Refinance requires NO employment verification, NO income verification, and NO credit score check.  This means that you could have a low credit score and be out of work and still be able to refinance your home – it’s that simple!

Sure – so what’s the catch?

There’s no catch.  The simple truth is that the FHA has a very real reason to offer refinancing to as many homeowners as possible, since its basic function as a business entity is to insure mortgages.  However, since there are no income or credit requirements, there is one stipulation that can mean the difference between qualifying for an FHA Streamline Refinance or not: you have to show a perfectly clean 12-month payment history on your mortgage.  Even if you’ve only have one 30-day late strike against you, this one simple fact can stop you from being able to refinance your home under new mortgage rates.

Here at Choice Mortgage Group, we understand that this is a great opportunity that is knocking for home owners. We have what it takes to help you secure an FHA loan!