On April 1 this year the FHA mortgage insurance rate (MI) will increase on FHA loans.  If you are planning on getting an FHA loan with less than 20% down, this will affect your loan.  This is just general information, so please check with your loan officer to see how these changes will effect your financing when you purchase your home.

Right now FHA loans have 2 levels of MI:

• Up front MI which is 1% of the loan amount which can be added to closing costs or you can finance it by adding it to your loan amount
• Annual MI which is 1.1% of the loan amount if your down payment is 5% or more or 1.15% of the loan amount if your down payment is less than 5%. These annual fees are paid monthly

Effective April first the MI will change to:

• Up front MI will be 1.75% of the loan amount
• Annual MI will be 1.2% of the loan amount if your down payment is 5% or more or 1.25% of the loan amount if your payment is less than 5%

If you are shopping or a home and are using FHA financing, you need to be under contract by April 1, 2013 to get the current MI rates.  Please consult with your mortgage loan officer for more information.