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FHA Loan Requirements, Handbook Kick in Next Week
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
The changes to FHA loan qualification
criteria, originally scheduled for implementation in June, will instead
be implemented on the 15th of this month. The new 800 plus page
FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook covers a variety of changes,
small and large, to how borrower characteristics are to be measured and
documented. Some changes loosen
requirements or ease documentation while others do the opposite.
Among the most contentious changes is the way some debt,
especially deferred student loan debt, must be handled. Under existing rules, student loan payments
which are deferred for a year or more beyond closing do not have to be included
in the calculation of debt-to-income (DTI) ratios. The new regulations require that, for all
deferred debt, the lender must obtain written documentation of the deferral from
the creditor along with evidence of the outstanding balance and terms of the
deferral. The calculation of monthly
obligation will be the actual monthly payment or 5 percent of the outstanding
balance, 2 percent in the case of a student loan.
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