FHA Streamline
If you bought your current home with an FHA loan, you may be able to refinance your mortgage through a streamlined process, lowering your interest rate and making your loan more affordable.
Benefits of an FHA Streamline Refinance
River City Mortgage can help you decide if refinancing is right for you. The FHA Streamline program is backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), making refinancing fast and simple, with easier approvals and no-closing-cost options.
FHA Streamline Approval is Simple
No appraisal
No income verification
No minimum credit score
No-closing-cost option
No prepayment penalty
How It Works
If your FHA purchase loan’s interest rate is higher than current market rates, you may benefit from the simplicity of an FHA Streamline refinance. It can lower your interest rate, which also lowers your overall mortgage payments.
With less documentation and no appraisal, you can get approved simply, allowing you to refinance to a new mortgage where you can get a lower fixed interest rate or convert your adjustable-rate mortgage to a fixed-rate.
Is an FHA Streamline Right for You?
These answers to homeowner’s commonly asked questions may help guide you. To take the next step, our loan officers can help you make your loan more affordable.
Do I qualify for an FHA Streamline loan?
If you have an existing FHA-insured mortgage, with up-to-date payments made over the past six months, and only one late payment in the past year, you’re on the right track to getting approved. If a refinance can also lower your interest rate by at least 0.5%, you’ll see enough benefit to make it worthwhile.
Does it cost to do an FHA Streamline Refinance loan?
Processing a streamline loan is efficient, so loan origination fees are lower. For example, the added fee of an appraisal isn’t included. There are closing costs to pay. But there are options to trade these for a slightly higher interest rate.
What documentation is needed for an FHA Streamline loan?
The FHA Streamline requires less paperwork than your original FHA loan, making it a “low-doc” refinance. This time around, you’ll only need a current mortgage statement, employment verification, two months of bank statements, and recent utility bills.
Can refinancing my FHA loan reduce my mortgage insurance?
All FHA loans require the protection of Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP).
If you refinance your FHA loan to another FHA loan within three years, you may qualify for a refund of a portion of the MIP you paid. If you refinance with 10% equity in your home, you may shorten lifetime MIP to 11 years. MIP also reduces slightly each year it’s paid.
How does an FHA Streamline compare to a conventional loan?
If you want to eliminate mortgage insurance, you could refinance to a conventional loan. To do this, you need more than 20% equity in your home and a higher credit score.
FHA loans have less strict qualification standards than conventional loans, so it’s easier to qualify for an FHA Streamline refinance. FHA interest rates are also lower than conventional rates in many cases.