The check digits enable the sending bank (or its customer) to perform a sanity check of the routing destination and account number from a single string of data at the time of data entry.
Generally, interest rates on FHA-backed mortgages are competitive with conventional mortgages. A quick scan of interest rates for 2012 reveals that FHA mortgages feature rates of about 3.33 percent. The FHA states that the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed loan on a single-family home is about 4.06 percent.
An FHA mortgage is a government-backed home loan with more flexible lending requirements than those for conventional loans. Because of this, interest rates for FHA mortgages may be somewhat higher, and the buyer may need to pay monthly mortgage insurance premiums along with their monthly loan payments. An FHA loan is available with fixed rates or as an adjustable-rate mortgage. FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and may have an easier qualification process due to less stringent down-payment and credit requirements than conventional mortgages.