THE FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD DO FOR AN FHA MORTGAGE
Since 1965, the Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, has been a component of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, the FHA was established more than 30 years earlier as part of the New Deal. Aside from the Dust Bowl drought and a stock market crash, the Great Depression saw a housing market bubble bursting. By early 1933, approximately half of all American homeowners had fallen behind on their mortgage payments. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established as part of the National Housing Act of 1934 to stop the flow of foreclosures and make homeownership more accessible. It found the 20 percent down payment as a new norm by guaranteeing mortgages for up to 80 percent of a home’s worth — before, homeowners could only borrow 50-60 percent of the home’s value. Currently, the FHA insures loans for over 8 million single-family houses. How easy is it to acquire an FHA loan right now? Even though the FHA’s minimum loan criteria have