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Well, the numbers are in and for Clark County, Nevada, the maximum FHA loan limit is now $400,000 and the conforming loan limit is unchanged at $417,000. 

Many high cost areas, such as counties in California, did get substantial increases in their conventional and FHA loan limits.  Oddly, the conventional increased loans are called "Jumbo Conforming", which is sort of an oxymoron since it used to be that loans were either jumbo or conforming.  You would think that since it's a change to conforming loan limits, that these new loan amounts would be conforming loans, but no, that's too easy.  To check your county and what the new conventional conforming loan limits are, click here.

You can find the new FHA loan limits here for your county.  Just key in the county name and hit send.

The increase to the FHA loan limits are going to be the most helpful to most people, I think.  The conforming increases come with some strings attached, namely these:

• They are for purchase or rate and term, (no cash out) refinances only
• The loan to value and combined loan to value is limited to 90% for a fixed rate purchase or 80% for a 5 year ARM purchase ( A five year ARM is the only ARM available at these new loan amounts)
• The loan to value for a rate and term refinance is 75%, the combined loan to value is 95% for either a fixed rate or a 5 year ARM
• The minimum fico requirement for a refinance is 660 and for a purchase less then 80% loan to value is 660, greater then 80% is 700.
• They require 2 months new house payment in reserves for a primary home and 6 months for a second home or investment property and no more then 45% debt to income ratio
• The rate will be a little higher then then regular conforming rates, but not as high as jumbo rates used to be
• If your home is in an area that has been declared a declining market by fannie mae, then the maximum loan to values mentioned above go down by 5%

For all the details on the guidelines, click here for a fannie mae matrix.

The FHA increases so far don't have additional restrictions, although many FHA lenders are putting fico score restrictions in place for FHA loans, and higher rates for loan amounts above a certain amount.

These changes will remain in effect until 12/31/2008 (the note must be dated by then) for now.

What does this mean for consumers?  Well, compared to the old jumbo guidelines, it amounts to a consumer being able to refinance to a 5% higher cltv (combined loan to value) at a lower rate then he would have been able to do before.  Helpful, but not monumental.  With the ltv limit being at 75% for a refinance, this does not help many homeowners in high cost areas.  If it were truly an increase to conforming loan limits, and not a new category called "Jumbo Conforming" then a person with a $500,000 loan whose rate adjusted, would be able to refinance up to 90% ltv (assuming he's in a declining market).  But instead, he has to do a 417,000 first loan, then a second loan to 90% and good luck finding a second lender who will do it.  It might be a help to those who have a first mortgage and a second mortgage and their second mortgage holder is willing to subordinate (go behind) a new first mortgage.

The FHA loan limit increases hopefully will help those folks in the high cost areas that need it.  There are so far, less restrictions to these, although that could change. 

Once again, time will tell.

So how do you not feel like a loser if your home is foreclosed on?  I asked this question to my husband and he said, "You are not a loser if you bought a ticket on the Titanic, you just get to go swimming with a lot of other people."  That's why I love him.  He says stuff like that.

As it turns out, many of us who purchased homes with two or three year adjustable rates in 2005 or 2006, were buying a ticket on a sinking ship.  Unlike the titanic though, we all will survive this, and guess what, home appreciation will begin to go back up, it always does.

In the meantime, how do you deal with losing your home to foreclosure?  We put our hearts into our houses to make them homes and when our home is taken away from us, we feel a considerable emotional loss.  We're sad and we feel like we failed and we kick ourselves for buying at the wrong time, or not choosing the fixed rate, or not saving money to get us through tough times.  Stop, take a deep breath and put things in perspective.  Remember that in the end, we wouldn't call it home if our family weren't there with us.  If something happened to our spouse or one of our kids, it wouldn't matter where we were living or what we owned, because we would trade it all to have them back.  We wouldn't trade our family for our house though.

As devastating as a foreclosure is, you can recover from it, emotionally and financially.  Sure, you may have to rent for a while, but a rented house is still a home if your loved ones are there with you.  Save your money because mark my words, sooner or later a lender will come out with a loan program designed for people with a recent foreclosure on their credit.  They have to, because otherwise no one in the near future could qualify to buy a home again. It will require a down payment, and be a fixed rate, and we will have to prove we can afford it, because we're all a little wiser.

That's what bad experiences are supposed to do, make us wiser, and stronger and appreciative of the good things in our lives.

Now, is that the Carpathia I see in the distance, or is that another iceberg....

Did I mention it helps to have a sense of humor?