Building A Home In A Cooling Housing Market
A lack of inventory is one of the reasons why prices went up this year. It's also a good motivator for people to build instead of buying the more scarce existing construction homes that might be caught up in hot bidding wars.
Home loan interest rates started the year closer to three percent, and at press time mortgage rates in the last days of October 2022 are more than double that.
For existing construction transactions, that creates headaches for borrowers but even those who want to build have to contend with the difficulty higher interest rates can make for custom builders and other industry professionals who suddenly find they might need to partner with a mortgage lender in order to stay in business.
How does that affect you as the borrower? In many cases, it may mean talking to your lender about preferred contractors, learning who the lender might be partnering with, and comparing the costs of that partnership with other lenders who may be working with other builders. Shopping around for a construction loan in a tough housing market is more important than ever.
When Will Interest Rates Stop Rising?
Rising rates make it harder to decide on a lender; how competitive is your chosen lender when it comes to the adjustable rate period you may be offered during the home’s construction phase?
Some might assume that falling home prices automatically correspond with falling interest rates.
But you should not make that assumption--one does not automatically follow the other, and for a construction loan and its adjustable-rate period, you’ll want to know how much that portion of the loan could cost you.
For existing construction house hunters and construction loan borrowers alike, what to expect likely includes accepting that interest rates are likely to remain elevated for a time. That won’t change until certain economic conditions in America improve enough to warrant the Fed lowering rates again.
When Rates Do Start To Drop
Even when rates start to drop, that won’t change certain aspects of building a house right now--you will still be required to make a minimum downpayment, you will still have to anticipate the time it takes to get permits, and if there are still supply chain issues associated with construction loans, the delays associated with those issues can and do slow down such projects.
Building in extra time and money to handle these contingencies is a key part of making your construction loan a success.
FHA, VA, and USDA: One-Time Close Loans
Want More Information About One-Time Close Loans?We have done extensive research on the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and the VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) One-Time Close Construction loan programs. We have spoken directly to licensed lenders that originate these residential loan types in most states and each company has supplied us the guidelines for their products. We can connect you with mortgage loan officers who work for lenders that know the product well and have consistently provided quality service. If you are interested in being contacted by a licensed lender in your area, please send responses to the questions below. All information is treated confidentially.
OneTimeClose.com provides information and connects consumers to qualified One-Time Close lenders to raise awareness about this loan product and to help consumers receive higher quality service. We are not paid for endorsing or recommending the lenders or loan originators and do not otherwise benefit from doing so. Consumers should shop for mortgage services and compare their options before agreeing to proceed.
Please note that investor guidelines for the FHA and VA One-Time Close Construction Program only allows for single family dwellings (1 unit) – and NOT for multi-family units (no duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes). In addition, the following homes/building styles are not allowed under these programs, including but not limited to: Kit Homes, Barndominiums, Log Cabin Homes, Shipping Container Homes, Stilt Homes, Solar (only) or Wind Powered (only) Homes, Dome Homes, Bermed Earth Sheltered Homes, Tiny Homes, Accessory Dwelling Units, or A-Framed Homes.
All known FHA/VA One-Time Close Lenders known to our company will not allow a borrower to act as their own contractor, whatsoever. There cannot be self-builds, relative builds, or employer builds.
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1. Send your first and last name, e-mail address, and contact telephone number.
2. Tell us the city and state of the proposed property.
3. Tell us your and/or the Co-borrower’s credit profile: Excellent – (680+), Good - (640-679), Fair – (620-639) or Poor- (Below 620). 620 is the minimum qualifying credit score for this product.
4. Are you or your spouse (Co-borrower) eligible veterans? If either of you are eligible veterans, down payments as low as $0 may be available up to the maximum amount your debt-to-income ratio per VA will allow – there are no maximum loan amounts as per VA guidelines. Most lenders will go up to $1,500,000 and review higher loan amounts on a case-by-case basis. If not, the FHA down payment is 3.5% up to the maximum FHA lending limit for your county.
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May 21, 2025A One-Time Close (OTC) residential construction loan is a specialized financing product that combines the financing for a new home's construction phase and the permanent mortgage into a single loan with just one closing. Unlike other methods that require separate loans for building and then for long-term ownership, the OTC loan streamlines the entire process, offering a simplified and often more cost-effective approach to building a custom home than two-close construction loans.
April 29, 2025If you know about regular FHA loans for buying existing homes, the FHA OTC loan for building shares many similarities, but with some key construction-specific twists. FHA One-Time Close mortgages are backed by the Federal Housing Administration. This government insurance protects lenders if a borrower can't pay, allowing lenders to offer loans with easier qualification rules. This makes it a good option for first-time buyers or those who might find conventional loans harder to get.
April 16, 2025There are two popular ways to finance new home construction using a single loan: the FHA One-Time Close (OTC) loan and a similar Conventional single-close loan. What’s a single-close mortgage? Think of it as an "all-in-one" loan for building a house. Instead of getting one loan for the construction phase and then another separate mortgage loan once the home is finished, a single-close loan combines everything into one package. It covers land, materials, labor, permits, and builder fees.
