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.
Current FHA Mortgage Rates. The FHA requires applicants to pay in cash or finance a  funding fee  with the FHA loan. The amount of the funding fee has changed several time over the past few years. The applicant is also required to pay a monthly mortgage insurance premium (mip).his page will attempt to explain the FHA loan calculation and the FHA monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP) over the past few years. A more detailed explanation can be found on the FHA Funding Fee Explanation page.