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 funding fee of 1.75 percent of the loan amount is rolled into the FHA loan, which goes to the FHA, Schachter says. The FHA also has a loan limit that's based on the average home sale price in the area. Maricopa County in Arizona, for example, has a $271,050 FHA limit, he says. FHA mortgage insurance premiums dropped in January to .85 percent for 30-year fixed loans up to $417,000.