The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently announced its “Back to Work” program, which is giving individuals who suffered a long period of hardship during the recent housing crisis a second chance to prove they can carry a mortgage and own a home.
The program will waive many of the waiting periods associated with a significant “economic event” such as bankruptcy (Chapters 7 and 13), short sale or foreclosure.
Potential candidates may be first-time or repeat home buyers, and the program can be used for the 203K rehab loan. It must be approved by an FHA lender, and as some lenders are choosing not to participate, you may want to contact your mortgage professional for more information on this.
Eligibility
To participate in the program, individuals must be able to demonstrate they’ve recovered fully from the “event”, and document the fact that they did have a household income loss of at least 20 percent for a period of at least six months that coincided with the “event.” They also need to prove current, stable and documentable employment to qualify.
As well, they need to demonstrate a 12-month positive payment history, and this specifies on-time payment of all mortgage and installment debt. There is some latitude for credit card debt, but it is slight.
Counseling sessions
Applicants also must attend counseling sessions before being able to participate in the program. This is usually a one-hour session with a HUD-approved counselor, and was designed to help participants prevent the “economic event” from happening again.