Next year’s loan limits on forward and reverse mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration have been released.
The loan limits are authorized under the recently passed Continuing Resolution, 2010 as part of the Department of Interior, Environmental, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Public Law 111-88, according to Mortgagee Letter 2009-50. The continuing resolution requires that FHA loan limits are set at the higher of the limits established under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 or the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
The new limits apply to loans approved between Jan. 1, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2010.
In low-cost areas, the FHA national loan-limit floor will be set at 65 percent of the conforming limit — which has been established at $417,000 for next year. That works out to $271,050 on a one-unit residence, while the two-unit limit is $347,000. The limit on three-unit properties in low-cost areas is $419,400, and the four-unit limit is $521,250.
In high-cost areas, the FHA loan limit for next year is $729,750. The two-unit limit is $934,200, the three-unit limit is $1,129,250 and the four-unit limit is $1,403,400.
In areas that are eligible for loan limits between the national FHA floor and the ceiling, the limit will be the higher of the 2008 limit authorized under the Economic Stimulus Act or the 2010 limit under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
In Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands, the National Housing Act authorizes loan limits to be adjusted up 150 percent. The resulting limit is $1,094,625 for a loan secured by a one-unit property, while the two-unit limit is $1,401,300, the three-unit limit is $1,693,875 and the four-unit limit is $2,105,100.
On home-equity conversion mortgages, the FHA limit will remain at $625,500 — or 150 percent of the conforming limit. The limit is $625,500 even in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands.
FHA loan limits are available online at https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm.