This
page provides information for people who already own homes. If you
need information about buying a home, please see buying
a home.
Active Military Duty
Your
ability to make your mortgage payments may be affected if you are
in the military or are a reservist called to active duty. Read about
the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Civil Relief Act of 1940. (Information for Lenders).
Disaster
Recovery
(Natural Disasters)
Once
a disaster area is declared by the President, the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and state agencies join together to assist those that have
become a victim of the disaster. By encouraging community partnership
and working with disaster recovery teams, HUD, through the use of
special programs can assist the victims in rebuilding safe and healthy
shelters. Read more Disaster
Recovery Information
Escrow Accounts
Most
FHA loans require that lenders collect a portion of your monthly
payment to pay real estate taxes, hazard insurance, and other requirements
as defined at settlement. The Real Estate Settlement Protection
Act (RESPA) defines what actions the lender must perform. RESPA
outlines in detail how escrow accounts should be established and
maintained. See Consumer
questions about escrow accounts.
Fixing up Your Home
Want
to modernize your home or just make some improvements? Home improvement
loans may be available for you to do so. Financing the addition
of a new room or putting in new flooring may be all you desire.
Check out the possibilities at Home
Improvements.
Foreclosure and How to Avoid It
There
can be many different reasons why homeowners get behind on their
mortgage payments. Perhaps you are behind on your mortgage payments
because of a job loss, decrease in income or an increase in debts.
If you are behind on your mortgage payments, you could lose your
home. There may be ways your lender can work with you to prevent
foreclosure. Read about How To
Avoid Foreclosure.
Help Save My Home
Layoffs
and threatened unemployment cause many homeowners to worry about
making their mortgage payments. Since their home is usually a family's
most important possession, basic advice for anyone with a home mortgage
has been prepared by HUD/FHA, in a joint effort with the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Labor and the mortgage
industry. More...
Help with Your FHA Lender
Are
you having difficulty working with your lender or do you feel the
lender is not responding to your questions? Whether you are attempting
to prevent your home from going into foreclosure or just do not
understand why your mortgage payment changed, we may be able to
help you get the answers you need from your lender. Contact HUD's
National Servicing Center.
Manufactured Housing
HUD
has regulations that are designed to ensure that when a consumer
purchases a Manufactured Home, it is built correctly and complies
with health and safety standards. For more information, please see
our Manufactured Housing
Fact Sheet.
Mortgage Glossary
Have
you ever wondered what the mortgage broker is saying to you? Are
you lost in a sea of new language? Well, here is a Glossary
of Terms and Definitions designed to help you understand mortgage
language.
Mortgage Insurance
The
Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) you pay is what allowed the reduced
downpayment on your mortgage. If the insurance premium is paid to
FHA, then yours is an FHA loan, and FHA insures your lender against
losses if the loan goes to foreclosure. Regulations were changed
in 2001 for some new mortgages to be eligible to stop making the
premium payments after a certain loan-to-value ratio is reached.
Read about it.
Mortgage Insurance Refunds
If
you paid off your FHA loan early, you may be eligible for a HUD/FHA
refund. See Does HUD
Owe You An FHA Refund for more information.
Predatory Lending
Today
HUD is finding more and more incidences of abusive practices by
some business people involved in the selling or financing of homes.
This is called Predatory Lending. Homeowners can find themselves
in a just-purchased home that is not worth the amount of their mortgage
loan, or there may be property defects that were not properly disclosed.
Either of these can result in problems for the homeowner that could
ultimately lead to foreclosure. To understand more about these practices
and what you can do,
read about Predatory Lending.
Refinancing
Is
your current home loan interest rate too high? Do you feel the market
is right to refinance? Refinancing to lower your interest rate should
lower your monthly mortgage payment. By refinancing your home loan
you will be creating a new mortgage, but it will pay off your present
one. If your home loan is still FHA insured you can use what we
refer to as a "Streamline Refinance". This will greatly reduce the
amount of paper work you will have to produce. Learn more about
how to Streamline
Refinance Your FHA Mortgage.
Who Can I Call for Help?
HUD's
National Servicing Center
works closely with customers who have FHA insured loans with the
goal of foreclosure prevention. We also stand ready to offer you
guidance about questions you may have about your mortgage and how
to effectively communicate with your mortgage lender.
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