An FHA refinance can improve the loan you have (a lower combined rate, a fixed rate, or a shorter term) with as little paperwork as possible, or turn equity into cash. Buying rather than refinancing? See our FHA home loans for buyers, or compare our other refinance options.
If your current mortgage is already FHA, the streamline is usually the lighter path. It skips the appraisal, and the version HUD calls non-credit-qualifying doesn’t require a credit check or income documentation. In exchange, the new loan has to show a net tangible benefit to you: a lower combined rate (your interest rate plus mortgage insurance) or a fixed rate in place of an adjustable one. A shorter term can count toward the benefit too, within HUD’s limits.
An FHA cash-out refinance lets you borrow up to 80% of your home’s value, pay off your current mortgage, and keep the difference. It takes a full credit review and an appraisal, and the home must be the primary residence you’ve owned and lived in for the past 12 months, with every mortgage payment in that time made in the month it was due. If your credit and equity are strong, MVP Funding can also compare it with a conventional cash-out refinance.
How soon can you refinance an FHA loan? For a streamline, you can apply once three things are true: you’ve made at least six monthly payments on your current loan, at least six full months have passed since the first payment was due, and at least 210 days have passed since the loan closed. You also need every payment in the last six months made in the month it was due, and no more than one 30-day late payment in the six months before that. If you were in forbearance (a period of paused or reduced payments), you can use the non-credit-qualifying version once you’ve finished the plan and made three payments in a row since, each in the month it was due.
The new loan has to pass HUD’s net tangible benefit test. On a fixed-rate to fixed-rate refinance that doesn’t shorten your term by three years or more, your new combined rate must be at least half a percentage point lower than your current one. HUD sets no minimum credit score for a non-credit-qualifying streamline, but lenders can set their own. MVP Funding looks for a lender whose standards fit your file.
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A quick prequalification shows you what you qualify for.
We gather the documents to move your file into underwriting.
Our team evaluates the full loan package.
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FHA writes the program rules, but lenders can add their own requirements on top, and they don’t all add the same ones. Because MVP Funding is a broker, our loan officers compare lenders for your specific file and look for a program that fits your credit and your goal.
Tell us about your current FHA loan and whether you want a lower combined rate, a fixed rate, or cash out. A loan officer follows up with the lender options that fit.
DISCLAIMER:
This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit. All loans are subject to credit approval. Information is subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. VA loan benefits are subject to eligibility requirements determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
An FHA streamline refinance replaces an existing FHA-insured mortgage with a new FHA loan, using limited credit documentation and no appraisal. It lets FHA homeowners move to a lower combined rate or a fixed rate without going through full underwriting again. It comes in two versions: non-credit-qualifying, where HUD doesn’t require the lender to analyze your credit or income, and credit-qualifying, where it does.
When a borrower is coming off the loan, or when a forbearance ended fewer than three on-time payments ago. The non-credit-qualifying version requires everyone on your current loan to stay on the new one, so removing a borrower generally means a credit-qualifying refinance, where the lender reviews credit and income for whoever remains. HUD makes an exception after a divorce, legal separation, or a borrower’s death: the remaining borrower can still use the non-credit-qualifying version if they’ve made the payments for at least the last six months and, after a divorce or separation, the decree or agreement awarded them the home and responsibility for the payments. Some lenders review credit on every streamline anyway, as their own policy.
Yes, but only into a fixed-rate loan. That rule covers both investment properties and HUD-approved second homes. The existing loan still has to be FHA-insured and meet the same seasoning and payment-history rules as a primary residence. FHA cash-out isn’t available on a rental, so if you want equity out of an investment property, look at a DSCR cash-out refinance, which qualifies on the property’s rent.
Yes. A new FHA loan carries FHA mortgage insurance, both the upfront premium and the annual premium paid monthly. If you refinance from one FHA loan into another within three years, part of the upfront premium you already paid is credited toward the new one, and that credit shrinks each month you wait.
Yes, if your credit and equity qualify for a conventional loan. It’s one way to stop paying FHA mortgage insurance. If the new conventional loan carries private mortgage insurance, CFPB’s PMI cancellation rules let you ask your servicer to cancel it once your balance is scheduled to reach 80% of the home’s original value. A streamline stays inside FHA, so moving to a conventional loan takes a standard refinance instead.
