9/4/12
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured only 1 in every 50 new mortgage loans in Chicago in 2006. In 2009 the FHA insured one...
4/2/12
A condominium’s eligibility for FHA financing can have an impact on its market value, due to the low down payment requirement and lower underwriting...
4/1/12
In a surprise move, Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration, the largest sources of mortgage liquidity in the US housing market, announced Friday...
2/15/12
Earlier this week, I wrote about three neighborhoods — Rogers Park, Humboldt Park, and Irving Park — whose condominium markets have been pummeled in...
1/9/11
“Our compelling prices represent a dramatic opportunity to buy high-end, very large, brand new condominiums at near auction-level pricing,” said Andy Kiener, when he...
12/21/10
You might want to double-check the status of that FHA-approved condo you have your eye on. According to an article published in the Daily...
11/17/10
Wells Fargo and Bank of America have tightened their standards for FHA-backed loans, says Bloomberg. Both banks now require applicants to have FICO scores...
11/12/10
Jeff Baird is a real estate valuation consultant based in Chicago. He founded Lakeshore Analytics to bring comprehensive, understandable housing data and analysis to...
4/23/10
I suppose I assumed 200 North Dearborn had received approval for FHA-backed mortgages sometime in the past year or two. Guess not — according...
1/19/10
“All we think about is credit risk, but comparing it to subprime just doesn’t make any sense. Let’s be rational.” – FHA Commissioner David...
1/8/10
For much of 2009, Chicago Association of Realtors President David Hanna publicly criticized federal lending guidelines that hampered buyers’ efforts to purchase condominiums in...
12/15/09
There aren’t a lot of developments in Lake View that have completed the entire HUD review or Direct Endorsement Lender review process necessary to...
12/8/09
Temporary changes 50 percent owner-occupancy minimum excludes vacant and tenant-occupied units. Condo pre-sale threshold reduced to 30% from 50%. Cap on FHA loans in...
12/2/09
One of the questions Realtors hear most frequently is, “Is this property FHA approved?” Yesterday I punched three ZIP codes into HUD’s FHA search...
11/5/09
Changes in the FHA approval process for condos that were supposed to go into effect this week have been delayed until December 7 (a...
10/13/09
Optima‘s Old Orchard Woods development in Skokie is unusual among today’s condo projects in that it’s approved for VA, FHA, and Fannie Mae financing....
10/9/09
On Nov. 1, several changes to the FHA approval process will go into effect, including the elimination of spot approval for condos, the addition...
10/6/09
“Three years ago nobody would touch it. Now everybody is clamoring to get it.” That’s how Joe Zekas opens this segment on FHA-backed loans...
10/1/09
Lennar announced yesterday that the South Loop high-rise Library Tower has received FHA approval. Located on the corner of State Street and Congress Boulevard,...