 

{"id":328689,"date":"2025-02-10T23:37:17","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T04:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/?p=328689"},"modified":"2025-02-11T05:06:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T10:06:38","slug":"fha-identity-of-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/fha-identity-of-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"FHA Identity of Interest: How It Impacts Your Down Payment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Buying a home has become all the more expensive in today&#8217;s times. But if someone you know is planning to sell a property for a good price, it can be a good deal for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, your lender must be aware of your relationship with the seller if you opt for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/fha-loans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FHA loan<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-takeaways\" style=\"margin-top:20px !important\"><p class=\"topHead\"><\/p><p class=\"headKeytake\">\ud83d\udcc9<b> Buying a house from someone you know\n<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The lenders charge a 15% down payment in the case of identity of interest.\n<\/li>\n<li>You can keep the down payment at 3.5%, despite FHA guidelines. In this case, the home you buy should be the primary residence of your family member. \n<\/li>\n<li>A non-arm&#8217;s length transaction is applicable wherein you buy a house from a related person without opting for an FHA loan.\n<\/li><\/ul> \n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"margin-top-28 wp-block-heading\" id=\"meaning\"><strong>What Is the Identity of Interest in<\/strong> <strong>Terms of an FHA Loan?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept of identity of interest implies a relationship that exists between the buyer and the seller. This relationship can be either personal or professional. It only applies when the buyer opts for an FHA loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other similar real-estate transactions are termed non-arm&#8217;s length transactions. However, in the case of an FHA loan, it is called identity of interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though you&#8217;re buying a home from someone you know, it&#8217;s advisable to ensure that the seller is following all the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/fha-flipping-rule\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FHA flipping guidelines<\/a> if they&#8217;re selling it within 90 days of their purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, FHA identity of interest guidelines describe a transaction between you and your parents or a landlord and their tenant. This relationship between the buyer and the seller gives rise to the assumption that the buyer may not pay a fair value for the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"margin-top-28 wp-block-heading\" id=\"effect-on-borrowers\"><strong>How Does the FHA Identity of Interest Affect Borrowers? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The impact of the identity of interest on borrowers is in the form of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/what-is-a-down-payment\/#What-Is-a-Down-Payment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">down payment<\/a>. Ideally, FHA loans require a down payment of 3.5% of the home&#8217;s price. However, the down payment requirement rises to 15% for the identity of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Usually, government loans, such as FHA loans, have lower down payment requirements. This is because these loans have the backing of the federal government, which reduces the borrower&#8217;s default risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, to better understand how the increased down payment affects your mortgage, you can use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/mortgage-calculator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mortgage calculator<\/a> to estimate your monthly payments and overall loan cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"margin-top-28 wp-block-heading\" id=\"Exceptions\"><strong>FHA Identity of Interest Exceptions <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few exceptions to FHA identity of interest that can keep your down payment requirements at 3.5%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Primary Residence: <\/strong>You can qualify for a 3.5% down payment if you plan to purchase the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/primary-residence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">primary residence<\/a> of your family member, fiancee, etc. <\/li><li><strong>Previous Resident:<\/strong> This refers to buying a house from your landlord in which you&#8217;ve lived for more than six months.<\/li><li><strong>Employer Relocation: <\/strong>This is when you buy a house from your employer as a part of a job relocation agreement.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"margin-top-28 wp-block-heading\" id=\"bottom-line\"><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Borrowers can obtain a home loan through an FHA program with a minimum down payment of 3.5%. However, these requirements may increase to 15% if you buy a property from someone you know personally or professionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In cases like this, the transaction is termed the FHA identity of interest. So, it&#8217;s advisable to opt for other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/types-of-home-loans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">types of loans<\/a> if you&#8217;re buying a home from a family member, employer, or landlord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"margin-top-28 wp-block-heading\"><strong>Find Your New Home With Houzeo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With thousands of property listings, Houzeo.com is one of the biggest property listing sites in the US. Find condos, townhouses, co-ops, and other types of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/homes-for-sale\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">homes for sale<\/a> on Houzeo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"margin-top-15\"><strong>\u00bb Need More Clarity?&nbsp;<\/strong>Read these exclusive&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.realestatequeen.com\/houzeo-reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Houzeo reviews<\/a>&nbsp;and learn why the platform is the best in America\u2019s competitive housing market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"margin-top-28 wp-block-heading\"><strong>Frequently Asked Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-faq-schema-wrap wp-faq-schema-accordion\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-faq-schema-items\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"ui-accordion-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t1. What is the maximum financing allowed for identity of interest for FHA?\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ui-accordion-header-icon ui-icon ui-icon-triangle-1-s\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ui-accordion-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For FHA identity-of-interest transactions involving primary residences, the maximum <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/loan-to-value-ratio\/#:~:text=Loan%2Dto%2DValue%20(LTV)%20Ratio%3A%20The%20LTV,purchase%20price%20of%20the%20property.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">loan-to-value<\/a> (LTV) ratio is 85%.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"ui-accordion-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t2. What is an arm&#039;s length transaction with FHA?\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ui-accordion-header-icon ui-icon ui-icon-triangle-1-s\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ui-accordion-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A transaction involving unrelated parties who are all acting in their own best interests is referred to as an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/fha-loans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FHA<\/a> arm's length transaction.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"ui-accordion-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t3. What are the rules for a non-arm&#039;s length transaction on an FHA loan?\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"ui-accordion-header-icon ui-icon ui-icon-triangle-1-s\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ui-accordion-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>You need to put down at least <a href=\"#effect-on-borrowers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">15%<\/a> of the purchase price if you want to use an FHA loan for a non-arm's length transaction.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<p class=\"margin-top-28\">Related: fha connection, fhaconnection, fha non arms length transaction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"new-excerpt\"><p class=\"small-desc\">FHA identity of interest refers to an existing relationship between the seller and a house buyer. Know what it means in terms of an FHA...<\/p><\/div><div class=\"reading_date\"><span class=\"readtime\">4 mins read<\/span><span class=\"date\">Feb 10, 2025<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":428683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46225,46293,46241],"tags":[28054,28055,28056],"class_list":["post-328689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buyer","category-fha","category-mortgage-types","tag-fha-identity-of-interest-form","tag-fha-identity-of-interest-guidelines-2022","tag-fha-non-arms-length-transaction-guidelines"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>FHA Identity of Interest: How It Impacts Your Down Payment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Identity of interest implies a relationship exists between the buyer and the seller. In the case of FHA identity of interest, your down payment can go up to 15%.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.houzeo.com\/blog\/fha-identity-of-interest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FHA Identity of Interest: How It Impacts Your Down Payment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Identity of interest implies a relationship exists between the buyer and the seller. 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