
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1990                   TAG: 9007180028
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

CEILING FOR FHA LOANS RISES IN MONTGOMERY

The maximum FHA loan amount for a Montgomery County single-family home has been increased by HUD from $68,300 to $74,550 because of efforts by local lenders.

Dennis Duncan, assistant vice president and manager of Dominion Bankshares Mortgage Corp. in Blacksburg, said lenders tracked transaction information on houses sold from May to October of 1989 and came up with a median sales price for a single-family house of $78,500. Duncan presented the findings to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD sets the FHA loan limit at 95 percent of the median sales price unless an area is categorized as a Metropolitan Statistical Area, which Montgomery County is not. If the area is designated MSA, HUD may further increase the FHA loan amount. An MSA is any urban area with a population in excess of 50,000.

Duncan said the new census may change the determination of Blacksburg and Montgomery County.

by CNB