Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

First-time home buyers in Massachusetts and around the country will want to speed up their home search, if they plan to finance the purchase of a home with a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan. 

FHA announced recently that fee increases and underwriting rules for FHA loans will increase the cost of homeownership for first-time and other borrowers. FHA loans are especially popular with first-time home buyers because the minimum down payment required is 3.5 percent, as opposed to 5 percent to 20 percent or more for conventional loans. In addition, FHA will lend to home buyers with credit scores a little lower than scores acceptable to lenders of conventional loans.