How Many FHA Loans Can I Have At Once?
January 16, 2025
The short answer is that it's tricky. FHA loans are about helping you buy a place to live in – your main home base. Because of this, and a few other things, getting multiple FHA loans isn't easy.
Living There Matters: The Occupancy Rule
The biggest hurdle is that you usually have to live in the home you buy with an FHA loan. It's gotta be your primary residence. There are a few exceptions, like if you're moving for work and can't sell your old place, but generally, you can't use FHA loans for vacation homes or investment properties.
More Than Just Where You Live
Even if you could have multiple "main" homes, there are other things that make getting multiple FHA loans tough:
- Debt-to-Income Ratio: Lenders want to ensure you can afford your loan payments. They look at how much debt you have compared to your earnings. Every time you add a mortgage, it is harder to qualify for another loan.
- Credit Score: Your credit score is like your financial report card. Managing multiple mortgages can be a juggling act, and your credit score can take a hit if you miss payments.
- Lender Rules: Each lender has its own rules about how many FHA loans they'll give to one person, even if the FHA doesn't have a strict limit.
- Money Matters: Lenders want to see that you're financially stable. Multiple mortgages mean you need more cash to cover all those payments, taxes, and potential repairs.
There are a few situations where having more than one FHA loan might be possible. As we mentioned before, if you have to move and can't sell your old place, you might be able to get a new FHA loan for your new home. Also, if you're going through a divorce or separation, each person might be able to get their own FHA loan.
All such scenarios are handled on a case-by-case basis, and you may need to submit additional documentation to have such a loan considered.
While the FHA doesn't flat-out say you can't have more than one loan, it's usually not that simple.
Most of the time, FHA loans are for your main home, and many rules and factors make it hard to get more than one. If you don't have special circumstances like a career change or an adjustment in the size of your family, more than one FHA mortgage may not be possible.
FHA Loan Articles
September 17, 2022The FHA sets these limits annually according to the location and type of home, and it represents the maximum loan amount the agency will insure. Approved FHA-lenders can set their own requirements in addition to the FHA’s criteria for borrowers, such as higher credit scores.
August 23, 2022Credit scores tend to be a source of anxiety for many Americans, because they realize the weight they hold when it comes to getting a loan for nearly anything. Taking the mystery out of this 3-digit number goes a long way to helping people understand and increasing their score.
June 16, 2022It’s a great option to consider if you want to build your dream home on your own land instead of buying someone else’s already-lived-in house. FHA One-Time Close mortgages are also referred to as single-close construction loans--you’ll see these terms used interchangeably.
May 7, 2022The appraisal process is a very important part of buying a home. When you are budgeting and planning for your loan, you may want to set aside some extra funds in case there are corrections required as the result of an appraisal.
April 12, 2022There is a major question some new borrowers have about home loans in general, that also applies to construction loans in particular. If you want to apply for an FHA One-Time Close construction loan, there are certain rules about loan funding that you should know about.
