If you have an adjustable rate mortgage coming due or your interest rate is already too high, you owe it to yourself to look at the safe and affordable financing options provided by government-insured mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

Under the new FHASecure plan, FHA will allow families with strong credit histories who had been making timely mortgage payments before their loans reset-but are now in default-to qualify for refinancing

To qualify for FHASecure, eligible homeowners must meet the following five criteria:

• A history of on-time mortgage payments before the borrower's teaser rates expired and loans reset;
• Interest rates must have or will reset between June 2005 and December 2009;
• Three percent cash or equity in the home;
• A sustained history of employment; and
• Sufficient income to make the mortgage payment.

What is FHA Secure?

FHASecure is a refinancing option that gives homeowners with non-FHA adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), current or delinquent and regardless of reset status, the ability to refinance into a FHA-insured mortgage.  With FHASecure, the lender will not automatically disqualify you because you are delinquent on your loan, and the lender may offer you a second mortgage to make up the difference between the value of your property and what you owe.

Who is Eligible?

So long as you are current on your mortgage and have sufficient income to make the mortgage payment, you are eligible for an FHASecure refinance.  If you are delinquent, the default must have been due to the payment shock of an interest rate reset or, in the case of an Option ARM, the "recasting" of the mortgage to fully amortizing.

By refinancing into a FHA-insured mortgage, you can expect to pay lower monthly mortgage payments. FHASecure can improve the quality of life for many communities by helping to reduce the number of mortgage defaults and bringing greater stability to local housing markets.

How to Apply
Search online for your nearest FHA-approved lender, or for more information phone 1-800-CALL-FHA (1-800-225-5342).