It used to be that if you called the FHA Hotline to find answers to your underwriting questions, you’d be on hold forever. Worse yet, if you used their advice and it was wrong, you’d could not trace who gave you the answer—nor would they give you the chapter and verse from the HUD manual.
But FHA has kicked it up a notch for 2011 and not only have they created a website link for their most frequently asked questions by category, they are posting answers to “already asked” questions.
Oh, oh, and here’s the best part—when you call, you can get a “tracking” number in case the FHA underwriter rejects the file. So you can provide it to the underwriter and they can verify the answer themselves.
Here’s the info and tips on what to you need to ask when contacting FHA.
When you call 1-800-CallFHA (800-225-5342) with a question, you’ll be asked for your name, company name and phone number. FHA has created a system where your question is assigned a tracking number. However, in their normal course of business—they don’t offer you the tracking number—you have to ask for it! Get the tracking number because if you call again with additional question on the same topic, they can pull up the previous question and answer.
Oh, and they have added more people to answer your questions so you won’t be on hold very long—if at all.
FHA Resource Center for FAQ’s,
You can also choose to ask your question by e-mail using this link,
My Words of Advice: If you call or e-mail, be very specific. Don’t leave out important details that may affect underwriting. Tell the whole story, not just part of it—and you’ll get more concise, clear answers and more of your loans approved.
Oh, and be sure to ask them for the chapter and section (in regards to your question) in the HUD manual as back up.
Keep updated on the mortgage rules and regs that will help you get more of your loans approved—because if you know the rules, you’ll rule the market.
Karen Deis is the publisher of
