A Facebook fan who is about to get married had asked me whether there is a limit in the amount of income to be able to qualify for FHA.
It seems that they were advise to only put the fiance’s name on the mortgage as their combined income would disqualify them from getting the FHA loan. Further, they would like to confirm whether there is any truth to the rumors that the $8,000 tax credit will be extended or doubled.
First of all, congratulations on trying to buy your first home – and on your upcoming wedding in 2010.
You indicated that only your fiance’s name would be on the mortgage because you were told that your combined income is too high for an FHA loan. If this is what you were told, then the gentleman you are working with appears to have given you misinformation regarding FHA loans.
There is no federal income limit for an individual or a couple to qualify for an FHA loan. It doesn’t matter how little or how much you make, as long as you meet FHA’s rules regarding your debt-to-income (DTI) ratios.
Under FHA guidelines (as of the original date of this article), no more than 31% of your gross income can go toward your housing costs, and 43% of your gross income can go toward your housing plus other monthly debts that are on your credit report (like your credit card payments, a student loan, or a car note).
The only thing I can think of that this gentlemen might have been referencing is that if you have large debts, then putting you on the mortgage could throw off your combined debt-to-income ratio, making the two of you ineligible to qualify for an FHA loan, based on their DTI requirements.
FHA Loan Limits
Also, the FHA does have loan limits related to the median price of a property. But those loan limits are fairly high, over $400,000 in most states.
In other words, the FHA program caps the size of the mortgage you can get to just north of $400,000 in most areas. But this loan limit (on mortgage size) does not impose any restrictions on how much income you or your fiance can make. You can learn more about FHA loans at: www.fha.gov.
Regarding your second question, whether or not the $8,000 tax credit, will be extended or doubled, my answer is: There is talk in Congress right now to expand the credit, but the reality is that none of us knows whether that will pass or not.
If you are seriously in the market for a home, and you and your fiance find a place you like, I would not hesitate to put in your offer and go ahead and try to close, as you’ve suggested you would like to do, before Nov. 30th. This way, you will get the benefit of that $8,000 tax credit, because there’s no guarantee that it will be extended.
It all depends on what happens in D.C. and whether or not the politicians think it’s necessary to spur the housing market.
