FHA Streamline is available for existing loans that are already FHA insured.
There is no Appraisal required and you will not have to verify your income. The idea of this program is that you have already qualified for an FHA loan initially and to reduce rate/payment you only need to verify that you have made your mortgage payments timely.
Typically the two main qualifications are that you have not been 30 days late on your mortgage more than once in the last 12 months (cannot have occurred in last 3 months) and your combined interest rate and mortgage insurance factor must be reduced by at least 0.5%.
If you meet both of these criteria, the Streamline is often worthwhile to reduce your rate and payment.
With FHA having changed the mortgage insurance charges and duration requirement frequently over the last several years, it will be important to have your Loan Originator explain to you how these will impact your new FHA loan.
Streamline is also available on Non Owner Occupied Property. If you purchased or refinanced with an FHA loan while occupying the property and later converted to a rental property, you can still use the Streamline program to reduce your payment.
In 2016, a common Streamline scenario we are seeing are FHA loans that were originated with mortgage insurance factors above what FHA presently charges for new FHA loans. If your existing FHA Loan was originated in 2012-2014, please reach out to us and we can review it to see if this will be the right program for you.
