An FHA loan is a goverment program allowing you to purchase a home with as little as 3% down payment and allows the seller to pay up to 6% of your closing costs. Down payment assistance is allowed under the FHA program.

If refinancing your home, FHA allows up to 97.75% of your homes value to payoff existing mortgages and cover closing costs. Cash out for debt consolidation and home improvements is available up to 95% of your homes value.

The FHA Secure loan is a refinancing option backed by HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) that gives homeowners with non-FHA adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), current or delinquent and regardless of reset status, the ability to refinance into a FHA-insured mortgage. With FHASecure, the lender will not automatically disqualify you because you are delinquent on your loan after the rate reset, and your current lender may offer you a second mortgage to make up the difference between the value of your property and what you owe. You may also negotiate a short payoff to your existing lender, if you currently owe more than the value of your home.

How is it different than a regular FHA loan?

It's different because it doesn't disqualify you from refinancing if you are currently delinquent on your loan. That is huge! You can still refinance your home if you are 30, 60, or 90 days late making your mortgage payment avfter the rate reset. There is no limit to how far behind you can be on your current mortgage.

A Conventional loan is basically any kind of lender agreement that's not backed in full by the Veterans Administration or protected by the FHA (the Federal Housing Administration). All told, there are several broad categories of conventional loans. Fixed rate mortgages are simpler in some cases. A home borrower “locks in” at an interest rate, and he or she pays down the principal and interest on the mortgage every month at that rate.

Other so-called conventional loans include conforming loans. Basically, these are arrangements that meet stipulations set forth by Fannie Mae and or Freddie Mac, two very large mortgage trading companies.

While Fannie Mea and Freddie Mac don't actually approve or disapprove of loans, they buy and sell mortgages. Lenders enjoy signing borrowers up with conforming loan, since they can later sell these loans to Fannie Mea or Freddie Mac to get funds for other investments.

A VA loan is guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and is available to eligible veterans and active duty military for the purchase of a new home or to refinance their current home. In most cases, there is no down payment required in a purchase transaction. The VA charges a funding fee to issue the guarantee to a lender against default on a mortgage. This fee may be upfront by the buyer or the seller or it may be financed into the loan amount.

• No down payment required in most cases
• Closing costs may be paid by the seller up to 4% of purchase price
• Low fixed rate with no prepayment penalties
• Mortgage can be taken over/or assumed by the buyer when the home is sold.
• Refinance your current mortgage to lower your rate/payment and include the closing costs

A Home Equity loan is a type of loan in which the borrower uses the equity in their home as collateral. These loans are sometimes useful to help finance major home repairs, medical bills or college education. A home equity loan creates a lien against the borrower's house, and reduces actual home equity.

Home equity loans are most commonly second position liens (second trust deed), although they can be held in first or, less commonly, third position. Most home equity loans require good to excellent credit history, and reasonable loan-to-value and combined loan-to-value ratios. Home equity loans come in two types, closed end and open end.

Both are usually referred to as second mortgages, because they are secured against the value of the property, just like a traditional mortgage. Home equity loans and lines of credit are usually, but not always, for a shorter term than first mortgages. In the United States, it is sometimes possible to deduct home equity loan interest on one's personal income taxes.

There is a specific difference between a home equity loan and a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). A HELOC is a line of revolving credit with an adjustable interest rate whereas a home equity loan is a one time lump-sum loan, often with a fixed interest rate.

A Reverse Mortgage is a loan available to seniors 62 and older used to release the home equity in the property as one lump sum or multiple payments. The homeowner's obligation to repay the loan is deferred until the owner dies, the home is sold, or the owner leaves (e.g., into aged care). A reverse mortgage is analogous to an annuity where the principal and interest are paid with homeowner's equity.

In a conventional mortgage the homeowner makes a monthly amortized payment to the lender; after each payment the equity increases within his or her property, and typically after the end of the term (e.g., 30 years) the mortgage has been paid in full and the property is released from the lender. In a reverse mortgage, the home owner makes no payments and all interest is added to the lien on the property. If the owner receives monthly payments, or a bulk payment of the available equity percentage for their age, then the debt on the property increases each month.

To qualify for a reverse mortgage in the United States, the borrower must be at least 62 years of age. There are no minimum income or credit requirements, but there are other requirements and homeowners should make sure that they qualify for the loan before they invest significant time or money into the process. For most reverse mortgages, the money can be used for any purpose; however, the borrower must pay off any existing mortgage(s) with the proceeds from the reverse mortgage and, if needed, additional personal funds. A pending bankruptcy which has not been finalized may, however, slow the process. Some types of dwellings do not qualify, while others (like mobile homes) have special requirements (such as being on an approved permanent foundation and built after 1976) in order to be approved. Before borrowing, applicants must seek third party financial counseling from a source which is approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The counseling is a safeguard for the borrower and his/her family, to make sure the borrower completely understands what a reverse mortgage is and how one is obtained.