FHA loans

3.5% down is the minimum required.
No income restrictions- they are available to every purchaser of a primary residence unit.
As long as income is in place, the loans is not easier or harder to get than any other loan.

In a condo or co-op unit you must make sure that the project itself is "FHA approved" - in Manhattan most of them are not.

On a 1-4 family house, there are no issues.

isn't an FHA loan like a loan for a loan?

YET ANOTHER CROOKED MARKET!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124940991556305327.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

he Federal Housing Administration Tuesday suspended Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. from making loans insured by the federal agency, knocking out one of the biggest FHA lenders at least temporarily.

The FHA said the Ocala, Fla.-based lender failed to submit a required annual financial report and to disclose to the FHA "certain irregular transactions that raised concerns of fraud." Taylor Bean has 30 days to appeal the suspension.
More

* Colonial and Taylor Bean Offices Raided

Taylor Bean was the 12th largest U.S. mortgage lender in the first six months of this year, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication. Among originators of FHA loans, Taylor Bean was the third largest in May, with a market share of 4%, according to the publication. Only Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. were larger.