Besides the tax credit deadline looming on April 30, another significant deadline is even closer — beginning April 5, 2010, the FHA Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium is going from 1.75% up to 2.25%. April 5, 2010 is NEXT MONDAY!

I wrote about the rise in FHA Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium on January 21, and time is now running out to get under contract before this change happens.

For any case numbers originating on or after April 5, the MIP will be 2.25%. This Friday, April 2, 2010 is Good Friday, so banks are closed.

This means for buyers to get the 1.75% premium, they need to be under contract and have all of their paperwork to their mortgage professional by Thursday, April 1, 2010 at the latest. (No joke!)

An example of what this means is that for a $200,000 loan amount, the current up front mortgage insurance premium to use FHA would be $3,500. As of next Monday, for the same loan it would be $4,500, costing a buyer $1,000 more.

Down the road, there are also expectations of reduced seller concessions and higher downpayment requirements for FHA borrowers. This means to buyers who are considering using FHA to obtain their loan should hurry to get the benefits as they stand currently!