FHA stands for the Federal Housing Administration. FHA loans allow buyers who don’t have the funds to make sizeable down payments and/or have lower credit scores to qualify for mortgage loans.

The basic criteria for a FHA loan is a 3.5% minimum down payment, and a FICO score of 580 or higher.  However, it’s possible to get a FHA loan with a score as low as 500, but it would require a higher down payment.  

Only certain lenders provide FHA insured loans.  We work with many that do.  Having loans backed by the government is popular for first time buyers as they are oftentimes easier to get than conventional ones.  FHA loans open the homebuying pool to a lot more people than only those who can make 10% to 20% down payments.