Form HUD-92900-B, Important Notice to Homebuyers: What You Sign

HUD Form 92900-B, titled the Important Notice to Homebuyers, is a one-page federal disclosure that every borrower applying for an FHA-insured mortgage reads and signs. Your lender gives it to you early in the loan process, usually with your initial disclosure package, and you return a signed copy as proof you received HUD’s required warnings about property condition, interest rates, prepayment, mortgage insurance premium refunds, occupancy, fair housing, and loan fraud. It takes a few minutes to review. Understanding what you are signing takes a little longer, and it is worth the time.

What the Form Is

The 92900-B is a disclosure, not an application. It tells you things HUD wants every FHA borrower to know before committing to a government-insured mortgage. You read it, sign it, and keep a copy. The loan application itself is a separate document (Form HUD-92900-A, the HUD/VA Addendum to the Uniform Residential Loan Application), which is where your income, assets, Social Security number, and property details are collected for underwriting.

The current edition carries a date of 10/26. If your lender does not include it in your initial disclosure package, you can download it directly from HUD’s website.

How to Complete and Return It

There is very little to fill in. The borrower’s only entries are a signature, a date, and the FHA case number your lender assigns when the loan file is opened. The form instructs you to “record your FHA case number here for future reference.”¹ A Privacy Act notice on the form explains that HUD is authorized to collect taxpayer identifying numbers under 31 U.S.C. § 7701 and 42 U.S.C. § 3543, but your Social Security number and other personal details sit on the loan application, not on this disclosure.

Once you have read every section and signed, return one copy to your lender. Most lenders accept a scanned upload through their secure loan portal. A physical copy delivered in person or mailed to the processing office works too. Keep the other copy for your records. This step typically happens alongside your initial loan estimate and intent to proceed, early enough that handling it promptly keeps underwriting on track.

What You Are Acknowledging When You Sign

Your signature confirms you have read each of the disclosures below. None of them creates a new obligation; each one puts a fact or right in front of you so you cannot later say you were not told.

The Appraisal Is Not an Inspection

The form states that “an appraisal will be performed to estimate the value of the property, but this appraisal does not guarantee that the house is free of defects.”¹ It advises you to “inspect the property yourself very carefully or hire a professional inspection service.”

This distinction catches many first-time buyers. The FHA appraisal exists to protect the lender and FHA by confirming the home is worth roughly what you are paying and meets minimum property standards. It is not a thorough check of the roof, plumbing, electrical system, foundation, or appliances. A professional home inspection, typically $300 to $750 for a standard single-family house, covers those systems. Skipping it to save a few hundred dollars is one of the costliest shortcuts in a home purchase.

HUD Does Not Set Your Rate

The interest rate and discount points on your FHA loan are “negotiated between you and the lender.”¹ Discount points, how long the lender will honor its quoted rate, and whether the seller or a third party contributes toward points are all part of the negotiation. The FHA label does not guarantee a competitive rate, so get two or three quotes before locking.

You Can Prepay Without Penalty

FHA-insured mortgages carry no prepayment penalty. Federal regulations require the mortgage to “contain a provision permitting the mortgagor to prepay the mortgage in whole or in part at any time and in any amount” and prohibit “any charge on account of such prepayment.”² For loans closed on or after January 21, 2015, the lender cannot require 30 days’ advance notice of prepayment, even if the mortgage document says otherwise.

One timing detail matters. To avoid extra interest, your prepayment needs to arrive on the installment due date (the first of the month) if the lender has stated that policy in its payoff quote; otherwise, you could owe interest through the end of the month on the prepaid amount, and the lender can refuse to accept prepayment on any other date.¹ When paying off an FHA loan early, request a written payoff figure and note the stated due-date requirement.

You May Be Entitled to an Upfront MIP Refund

FHA borrowers pay a substantial upfront mortgage insurance premium at closing. If you refinance into a new FHA loan within three years, part of that original premium can be credited toward the new loan’s UFMIP. The refund percentage drops about 2 percentage points per month: 80 percent if the original loan is paid off within the first month, declining to 10 percent by month 36.³

Conditions apply:

Refunds are available only when you refinance from one FHA loan into another. Refinancing into a conventional loan produces no refund.
Your payments must be current, with no serious late history.
If the lender has submitted an insurance claim to HUD (foreclosure), no refund is due.
When an FHA loan is assumed by a new buyer, the insurance stays in force and the seller gets no refund. The property owner at the time the insurance terminates is the one entitled to any future refund.¹

The Property Must Be Your Primary Residence

The form warns against falsely certifying that a property will serve as your primary residence. FHA loans are for homes the borrower actually lives in, not investment properties or vacation houses. FHA guidelines require at least one borrower to move in within 60 days of closing, and FHA policy generally limits each borrower to one insured mortgage at a time.⁴

Fair Housing

The form reminds borrowers that discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin is prohibited. If you believe you have experienced discrimination during the mortgage process, the form directs you to HUD’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Complaint Hotline at 1-800-669-9777.¹

Loan Fraud Warnings

The fraud section is blunt. It tells you to provide complete and accurate information, not to falsify income or assets, and to disclose all loans and debts, including money borrowed for the down payment.¹ By signing, you confirm you understand these requirements. Misrepresentation on an FHA application exposes a borrower to prosecution under three federal statutes:

18 U.S.C. § 1010 targets false statements and overvaluation made to obtain FHA insurance or influence HUD. Maximum penalty: a fine and up to two years in federal prison.⁵
18 U.S.C. § 1012 covers false entries or reports to HUD, undisclosed rebates, or concealed interests in HUD transactions. Maximum penalty: a fine and up to one year in prison.⁶
18 U.S.C. § 1001, the general federal false-statements law, reaches any materially false statement in a matter within federal jurisdiction, FHA loans included. Maximum penalty: a fine and up to five years in prison.⁷

HUD can also impose administrative sanctions on program participants, up to debarment from all HUD programs. The form exists in part so that a borrower who inflates income or hides debts cannot later claim no one explained the risk.

1
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Important Notice to Homebuyers
2
Federal Register. Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Handling Prepayments
3
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA Homeowners Fact Sheet on Refunds
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Can a Person Have More Than One FHA Loan?
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1010
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1012
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1001