Comments Off | Monday, May 17, 2010
Section 203(k) insurance enables homebuyers and homeowners to finance both the purchase (or refinancing) of a house and the cost of its rehabilitation through a single mortgage’or to finance the rehabilitation of their existing home.
Section 203(k) is one of many FHA programs that insure mortgage loans, and thus encourage mortgage companies to make mortgage credit available to borrowers who would not otherwise qualify for conventional loans on affordable terms (such as first-time homebuyers) and to residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods (where mortgages may be hard to get).
Section 203(k) fills a unique and important need for homebuyers in another way as well. When buying a house that is need of repair or modernization, homebuyers usually have to follow a complicated and costly process, first obtaining financing to purchase the property, then getting additional financing for the rehabilitation work, and finally finding a permanent mortgage after rehabilitation is completed to pay off the interim loans. The interim acquisition and improvement loans often have relatively high interest rates and short repayment terms. Read the rest of this entry »