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.
The average interest charged to borrowers for a 30-year, fixed rate loan fell to 4.21% from 4.29% last week, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate report.Rates have not been this low since the week of November 7, when they were at 4.16%.The 15-year, fixed rate mortgage, a popular loan for homeowners refinancing existing mortgages, hit 3.32%, down from 3.38% last week.Related: Buy vs. rent: What you'll pay in the 10 biggest cities.ayments on a $200,000 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage would be only $979 a month at a rate of 4.21%. Borrowers with rates closer to the historical norm of 6% would pay about $1,200 a month. Related: Nearly half of home sales are all cash.