
FHA insured mortgages are assumable, meaning a borrower can transfer the debt to a different borrower rather than paying off the old debt, a useful feature in a rising mortgage rate environment. Over the last 35 years, mortgage interest rates have fallen steadily, so very few buyers active in the housing market today have ever experienced a rising mortgage interest-rate environment. When rates steadily fall, people typically refinance and terminate their old mortgage in favor of a new one with better terms. Most people expect rates to rise from our record lows, and when rates rise, people typically don't refinance because they want to keep their low mortgage interest-rate mortgage. In a rising mortgage rate environment, people need to use…[READ MORE]