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Types of FHA loans: Your options and how to choose a program
With housing prices climbing to record levels, you might wonder if the words “affordable” and “mortgage” still go together. Thankfully, FHA loans — insured by the Federal Housing Administration — bring these two words together for hundreds of thousands of people each year.
Thanks to the different types of FHA loans, you’ll likely find one that fits your needs. From everyday purchase and refinance loans to specialty loans for specific buyers and those looking to renovate a property, the sheer number of FHA loan programs may just blow your mind.
The best part? FHA loans have flexible credit and low down payment requirements, making homeownership dreams more accessible and affordable than ever.
In this article:
Why FHA loans matter
Before getting into the different types of FHA mortgage loans, let’s start with a few fun facts about these loans in general. First, they’re not new. The Federal Housing Administration was founded in 1934 and has since insured around 50 million mortgages. Before the FHA started backing loans, America was a renters’ nation — only 1 in 10 Americans owned a home.
Today, roughly 65% of Americans are homeowners. While the FHA doesn't solely get credit for that leap in ownership, it has played a significant role. By creating mortgage products designed to serve first-time home buyers and those in low-to-moderate-income households, the FHA makes homeownership accessible to a much broader swath of the population than in 1934.
How much more affordable? Back in 1934, you could generally only take out a mortgage for up to 50% of a property’s value, and the loan term was a scant three to five years. Today, those using an FHA mortgage to buy a home can borrow up to 96.5% of a home’s value, with FHA lenders offering loan terms up to 30 years.
So, if you think an FHA loan could help make your homeownership dreams come true, you might be right. Let’s dive into the wide range of FHA loan types and see which fits your goals and finances.
Learn more: The pros and cons of FHA loans
FHA loans for buying a house
FHA home purchase 203(b) loan
When you think “FHA loan,” you’re probably thinking of an FHA loan for purchasing a home. The FHA 203(b) loan is just that — a basic home mortgage loan. This loan is essentially FHA’s flagship mortgage product for primary residences. Buyers can use it to purchase single- and multi-family homes from one to four units.
FHA adjustable-rate mortgage
While many FHA mortgages are fixed-rate — where your interest rate remains the same for your entire loan term — some FHA loans have adjustable-rate options. An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)) has two components: an initial fixed term and an adjustment interval. For instance, a 5/1 ARM has a five-year fixed-rate initial term, and the rate adjusts yearly. Interest will adjust periodically, increasing or decreasing according to market conditions.
The FHA offers ARMs with introductory fixed-rate terms of one, three, five, seven, and 10 years.
FHA condominium mortgage
If condo living is your style, you can use multiple types of FHA loans to buy a condominium. What makes buying a condo different with an FHA loan versus another type of mortgage is the condo approval process.
An FHA-approved condo meets specific agency requirements. These criteria include but aren’t limited to guidelines for the percentage of owner-occupied units in the building, minimum cash reserves held by the HOA, and the number of FHA-insured mortgages already active by current owners.
You can use the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s search tool to find FHA-approved condos in your area.
FHA Manufactured Home Loan (Title I and Title II)
There are two different FHA loan programs for manufactured homes: Title I and Title II.
You can use a Title I FHA loan to buy or refinance a manufactured home. You can also use it to buy or refinance the land the home sits on or even both the home and land together. With this loan, you have the option to lease the land beneath the home so long as the initial lease term is at least three years.
If you use a Title II loan, you cannot lease the land where your home will sit. You must use the loan to buy the home and the land.
FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage Program
Looking to keep your utility costs low? The FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program lets you finance energy-saving upgrades into a new or existing FHA mortgage.
With this type of FHA loan, you can borrow money to cover energy-efficient upgrades like insulation, solar panels, insulation, or windows. The best part? You don’t have to come up with a higher down payment. You only need to put down 3.5% of the home purchase price, not the purchase price and the cost of upgrades. The way the FHA sees it, lower energy bills give homeowners more money each month to put toward their mortgage.
FHA Rehabilitation Mortgage Standard 203(k)
The Standard FHA 203(k) mortgage could be a good fit if you have your eye on a fixer-upper of a single-family home. This loan lets you use one loan to buy a home and finance the cost of repairs instead of taking out a purchase and construction loan separately. Major projects like building a new roof, replacing plumbing, adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), and other larger-scale projects may qualify.
The Standard FHA 203(k) loan lets you qualify for a mortgage based on the renovated value of the property. However, the property’s total value must remain within the FHA loan limits for the area.
FHA Rehabilitation Mortgage Limited 203(k)
The FHA Limited 203(k) loan can be used for homeowners and buyers looking to make less extensive, non-structural repairs to a home. For instance, you can renovate your kitchen, but you can’t add an addition to your home and build a kitchen in it.
These loans have no minimum but are limited to a total of $35,000.
Good Neighbor Next Door
If you’re in law enforcement, a teacher, or first responder, the Good Neighbor Next Door loan could be your ticket to homeownership. This type of loan could get you 50% off a home’s listing price (yes, you read that right) and a down payment as low as $100.
The program comes with fine print. First, there are geographic restrictions that link where you work and buy a home. Next, you need to work in one of these professions full-time. Finally, the home must be a HUD home within a designated revitalization area.
FHA Disaster Victims Mortgage 203(h)
Some types of FHA mortgage loans come to the rescue when Americans need them most, like the FHA 203(h) loan program. If your home was located in a Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Area and damaged or destroyed, this loan could help you renew your homeownership status.
With the 203(h) loan program, you can obtain a mortgage to rebuild your current home or buy a new one — and for 0% down. Some caveats: You must apply within one year of the disaster declaration, and only one-family homes are eligible. You’ll also need to pay closing costs, and your mortgage will require mortgage insurance. To find a lender, you can use HUD’s lender search engine.
Read more: What to know about FHA loan closing costs
FHA Hawaiian Home Lands Mortgage
Indigenous communities experience systemic barriers to homeownership. For Native Hawaiians, the FHA Hawaiian Home Lands Loan Program seeks to remove obstacles and empower a greater percentage of land ownership in the state.
This FHA loan program — nearly identical to the original 203(b) FHA loan — helps insure mortgages on primary residences of one-to-four-family homes on designated Hawaiian home lands (HHLs) for eligible Native Hawaiians. Unlike the original 203(b) FHA loan, loans made under the HHL program don’t require ongoing mortgage insurance. Instead, HHL loans only require a one-time FHA mortgage insurance premium paid at closing, which buyers can roll into their mortgage.
Native Hawaiians can use these loans for purchase or refinance.
FHA Indian Reservations and Other Restricted Lands (248) Mortgage
Speaking of loan programs for America’s Indigenous peoples, the FHA Indian Reservations and Other Restricted Lands (248) mortgage program is similar to the HHL program above. These loans are for purchasing or building a one-to-four-family home (including manufactured and mobile housing) on leased tribal or restricted lands with a down payment as low as 3%.
To qualify for the program, a tribal member’s tribe must participate in the program with FHA. Future buyers of the home must also be approved by the tribe.
FHA loans for refinancing
FHA Simple Refinance
If you want to refinance your existing FHA loan, the FHA’s Simple Refinance loan program could help. These loans are rate-and-term mortgage refinance loans that replace your current mortgage, generally with a different interest rate and new loan term.
Eligible homeowners who meet on-time monthly mortgage payments and credit requirements can roll closing costs into their new loan. You’ll just need to make sure that your total financed amount — including closing costs — doesn’t exceed 97.75% of your home’s appraised value. Speaking of which, the FHA Simple Refinance requires an appraisal.
FHA Streamline Refinance
The FHA Streamline Refinance can help current FHA mortgage holders save in the short and long term.
This rate-and-term refinance option may not require an appraisal, credit check, or income verification — hence, the “streamline” in the product name. To qualify, however, you’ll need to be current on payments with at least six consecutive (and recent) on-time payments. You’ll also need to prove that the new loan would save money with an interest rate reduction or lower monthly payment.
FHA cash-out refinance
If you want to tap your home’s equity for some cash when you refinance, the FHA cash-out refinance is worth a look.
To qualify for this mortgage refinancing option, you must already have an FHA loan and at least 20% equity in your home. The cash-out option also requires full underwriting, which means income verification, a credit check, and an appraisal. You can choose a loan term of up to 30 years.
Types of FHA loans: FAQs
Are there different kinds of FHA loans?
Yes, there are many types of FHA loans for buying and refinancing homes. When buying a home, many people get a 203(b) loan (which is probably what you think of as a “regular” FHA loan). But your options range from an FHA energy-efficient mortgage for financing a home and eco-friendly improvements to the FHA Disaster Victims Mortgage 203(h) for rebuilding your home after a natural disaster.
What is the most common FHA loan?
The most common type of FHA loan is the FHA home purchase 203(b) loan. This is the kind of FHA mortgage you use to buy a house, which typically requires a 3.5% down payment and 580 credit score.
What will disqualify you from an FHA loan?
Typically, you need a 580 credit score and 3.5% down payment to qualify for an FHA loan (or 500 credit score with a 10% down payment). The home also must meet certain property requirements. Some specialized types of FHA loans will have their own standards, though, and you will be disqualified if you don’t meet these criteria.
This article was edited by Laura Grace Tarpley.
