I am a US citizen working abroad. If I bought a permanent residence, but continue to work abroad can I qualify for a FHA loan?

The short answer is probably. Technically, you must take occupancy of the home within 60 days of the purchase and live in it for at least a year. In reality, though, there really is no way for FHA to know for sure that you are occupying the home.How long will you be living abroad?When do you plan on occupying the home?Why a FHA loan rather than a conventional one with a lower down payment? It doesn't have a 1.75% upfront mortgage insurance premium added to the loan amount after the down payment like a FHA loan does.Give me a call 16/7, or email me your phone number so I can call you, and I'll be happy to discuss this with you. To learn more about me and our mortgage brokerage, click on my picture. When the next page pops up, click on "Website" and you will be redirected to ours.If you get a chance, read some of my blogposts on Lender411. They are quite informative.We work exclusively in CA and get loans done fast, typically in less than 30 days, at low interest rates and costs.I started doing mortgage loans in CA in 2006, so I have an exceptional understanding of this extraordinary market, and, unlike the vast majority of loan officers, I am an accountant by education. As such, I am able to analyze current market conditions and structure creative loan alternatives for my clients in a manner much different, and more advantageous to them, than virtually all other loan officers.We work with more than 55 quality lenders that offer in excess of 1,500 loan programs, so we definitely have something for everybody! I look forward to communicating with you.

FHA regulations requires you to move into your new home within 60 days, but if you are abroad for work reasons like if you are in the service or do an activity that ask you to be away from your primary home, or if your job requires you to travel constantly and be on the move then it is possible. It all depends on what your current circumstances are and the reasons why you need to stay abroad. Please contact me to further evaluate your scenario and see if you can fit into the program requirements, or other programs, since there are many available. It is not a question of whether you are abroad or not as much as about qualifying you for a loan. I am sure there is a solution for your case.

The 'correct' way to do this is to do a conventional loan with at least 10% down as a 'second home'

Moseleme176, be very careful here. FHA loans are for OWNER occupied properties only. Unless you are married and your spouse will be living in the FHA financed home, you would be committing Mortgage Fraud. How could anyone possibly believe that "I bought this home, told the bank that I'm going to live in it when I work abroad". That's a pretty long commute. So, let's say you can sneak it past an underwriter, and you get the loan. Are you going to have it sit empty until you get back? Are you going to keep making the payments on the loan for a house that is just sitting there vacant? No? If you rent it out, again, Mortgage Fraud. Even buying it as a second home is fraught with peril. A second home is akin to a vacation or part-year home (ie: you winter in Arizona and summer in Wisconsin). Acquiring it while abroad and never living it and renting it instead is Mortgage Fraud. There's a pattern developing here, do you see it.If you were to be reassigned to the states, bought a home and moved into it and 4-6 months later (or longer) get re-deployed abroad, move out and then choose to rent it, That falls under a change of life's circumstances and there is NO mortgage fraud.If your intent is to buy a home and while you are abroad, rent it out, Save yourself the risk of Prison time and buy it as an investment property. ~ Bert Carpenter, The LoansA2z Team of NEXA Mortgage ~ NMLS 40586 ~ Licensed in Arizona, California, Georgia, Oregon and Washington ~ www.ApplyYes.com 480-889-9000