He estimates that with the FHA's new fees, an applicant with a 720 FICO score making a 3.5% down payment on a $250,000, fixed-rate, 30-year FHA mortgage will pay $144.66 more a month than a borrower with the same credit score on a conventional loan of the same amount with a 5% down payment and private mortgage insurance.
Even with a 680 credit score, the conventional loan is cheaper by $85 a month based on the FHA's new fee levels, Stamets said. And those monthly premium payments can be canceled at the 78% loan-to-value level, whereas the FHA will keep charging them for the life of the mortgage.