It should come as no surprise that FHA is tightening the belt where mortgages are concerned. Homeowners in Connecticut and across the country will soon see higher fees for an FHA mortgage and they will also see much stricter guidelines.

Presently an FHA mortgage is the only option if you do not have a large down payment to buy a home. The minimum is still a 3.5 percent down payment where as conventional loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is roughly 10 percent depending on the property.

As the mortgage crisis hit conventional loans raised the credit score requirements for borrowers to obtain mortgages. FHA still kept the same guidelines, lending to borrowers with credit scores below 600 so now as the default rate is jumping for FHA loans the bar is being raised. There was a great article in the New York Times this past weekend that talks about this very topic. NY TIMES ARTICLE