Payment Problems and VA

Should one fail to pay, FHA insures mortgage loans made by approved lending institutions. The FHA insures a variety of mortgages, including FRMs, ARMs, GEMs and GPMs. Down payments are low – 5 percent or less. The FHA doesn’t set the interest rate on loans it insures, so you’ll need to shop around for the best rate.

The FHA limits the amount it will insure to whichever is less: 95 percent of the local average home price or 75 percent of the loan limit set by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, a large buyer and reseller of mortgages.

Veterans Administration Guaranteed Loads (VA)

VA loans have most of the advantages of FHA loans, and then some, but they also have eligibility restrictions. They are available only to veterans of the armed services, those currently in the service and their spouses. VA loans are typically half a percent or more below market rates, and they can be obtained with no money down.