Frequently asked questions
General Questions
What is an FHA loan?
An FHA loan is simply a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The Federal Housing Administration is part of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an Executive branch Cabinet department.
Why is FHA Approval important?
Due to recent changes in federal law and policy, it is now
necessary for an entire condominium or townhome development to
obtain FHA approval from HUD in order
for an FHA loan
(purchase or refinance)
to be possible for even a single condo or townhome unit.
Why is FHA Loan Eligibility important?
Though FHA approval makes an FHA loan possible, an
FHA transaction (loan)
will not occur unless certain
loan eligibility criteria pertaining to the condo or townhome development are satisfied at the time the loan is to be funded.
We calculate on a daily basis statistics concerning FHA loan eligibility criteria (investor ownership percentage, owner occupancy percentage, FHA concentration percentage, etc.) for FHA-approved properties. Anyone else desiring such information must obtain (and usually pay for) a condo questionnaire or condo cert (condo certification).
FHA
approval is necessary for an FHA loan to be
possible for a condominium or townhome property. FHA loan
eligibility is necessary for an FHA loan to actually
fund.
Fha Approval and Eligibility Check Questions
How do our FHA Approval and Loan Eligibility Reports save you time, money and frustration?
Condo and townhome buyers are purchasing with FHA loans in record numbers. Many buyers today can only purchase with an FHA loan (due to the low 3.5% down payment and easier credit qualifying requirements). Others simply prefer FHA loans because of their distinct advantages.
Our FHA Approval and Loan Eligibility Reports enable an interested party to obtain an instant “snapshot” as to whether or not an FHA loan is
possible
at a given condominium or townhome address (is there FHA approval?) and whether or not the loan will
likely fund (are certain FHA loan eligibility criteria satisfied?).
Until now, this information was only obtainable from a homeowner association or management company several weeks into a real estate transaction, and at a cost of between $60 and $125.
Can't I get this information from HUD's website?
No.
HUD's website only displays approved associations by association name, not by address.
More importantly, HUD's website does not display any of the relevant loan eligibility criteria found in our FHA Approval and Eligibility Reports. This information is crucial because it is loan eligibility that determines whether or not a buyer can obtain an FHA-insured mortgage and in many cases whether a real estate transaction will occur or instead be frustrated.
In addition, HUD's website shuts down at 6:00 PM (Pacific Time) daily and is non-operational most weekend hours.
How often is our data updated?
Our data is updated daily, to ensure that the most accurate information is delivered to our users. Many of our users check an address multiple times, to ensure that nothing has changed that would prevent their transaction from closing.
FHA Approval Service Questions
How does our FHA Approval process work?
When you call us at (818) 338-6588 our FHA specialists will ask you a few simple questions about your association. If you are a good candidate for FHA approval (the minimum requirements are met), we’ll send you a contract and invoice. Upon receipt of a signed contract and payment, we send you a detailed list of the documents required for the HUD submission, tailored for your association.
Once we receive your documents, we do all the rest.
How long does the FHA Approval process take?
We pride ourselves on our quick turnaround time and submit your materials to HUD within days of receiving your information and documents.
At this time, however, there is currently a 4-6 week waiting period at HUD, due to a significant backlog of cases there. So please allow 4-6 weeks from the date on which we receive your materials and other information.
