want to go fha but am confused about the mortgage insurance "upfront premium"

It is a 1 time fee that is financed into the loan. There is also a monthly mortgage insurance premium of 1.35% that will be apart of your monthly mortgage payment.If you have good credit i highly recommend a conventional loan due to a much lower mortgage insurance premium which will translate into a lower total payment. The minimum down payment on a conv. loan is 5% vs 3.5% for FHA.Give me a call if you have any other questions, my office is in Carlsbad 760-525-2484Al

The short answer is "both". You the pay an up-front premium, as well as a monthly premium of 1/12 of the 1.35% annual MMI premium. If your interest rate is 5.0%, the payment portion would calculate as if the rate were about 6.1% (since a portion of your payment goes toward the principal).

Simply put, the 1.75% is financed in the loan (you can pay it in cash, but ost finance the UFMIP). Depending on credit and your debt to income ratio, as the previous respondent mentioned, a Conventional loan "may" be a better alternative. Please feel free to call or email me with any further questions. I am a National Lender and lend in all 50 States.Thanks much,Kirk AndersonBNC National BankNMLS #459105877-262-4050

As mentioned, this an FHA fee that is financed into the loan. As a first time homebuyer, hopefully you have a responsive loan officer explaining and informing you on the details of this and any other aspects of the process that you have questions on... Please make sure that you speak with an experienced lender who will lay out various options and intelligently discuss the pros and cons of each with you. Your pre-approval should reflect in writing that all financial documents have been reviewed. This will make for less stress and potential issues during the process as well as make it more likely for a seller to accept your offer on the home you want. I'm happy to help with the financing or just give you advice. If you need more information, or a competing rate quote call, email or use my live support button to discuss or get in touch with me. Web Address for live chat or quote is: http://www.loansfromrob.com/quote/ Email is robertlh66@verizon.net and direct phone is 240-752-7549. Good Luck -- Rob Hanson