The Department of Housing and Urban Development has released a final rule defining a “qualified mortgage” that is insured by the FHA. The final rule will be effective on Jan. 10, 2014. The HUD rule builds off the QM/Ability-to-Repay rule, which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized earlier this year. The Dodd-Frank Act requires HUD to propose a QM definition that is aligned with the ability-to-repay criteria set out in the Truth in Lending Act and with the agency’s mission to ...

Lenders will need to order a new appraisal for an FHA-insured real estate-owned property if the current REO appraisal is defective or an adverse condition exists that requires a new assessment of the property, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The requirement is one of several that HUD spelled out recently in Mortgagee Letter 2013-44. The mortgagee letter includes changes to HUD’s policies on the use of an FHA-insured mortgage in the purchase of HUD REO properties and the use of distressed properties in ...

More lenders will be able to make mortgage loans to rural homebuyers due to sweeping changes made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to its single-family home loan guaranty program. Published in the Dec. 9 Federal Register, the changes are part of a broad program overhaul to strengthen rural housing markets, increase the availability of rural home loans and spur the construction of new homes in rural areas. The changes in the interim final rule will take effect on Sept. 1, 2014, and are likely to draw more prospective homebuyers to the program, the agency said. Commenters have until Jan. 8 to ...

Despite two consecutive quarterly production declines, the Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan Guaranty program is well on its way to a record year due to strong refinance volumes and demand for home-purchase mortgages. Federally guaranteed lending to military service members fell in the third quarter of 2013 by 10.6 percent from the second quarter while volume over the nine-month period increased by 14.9 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of VA lending. Over a nine-month period, VA lenders originated an ...

RHS Extends Submission Deadline for Online Homeownership Courses. The Rural Housing Service has extended the deadline for submitting online homeownership education courses for use in the agency’s Single Family House Section 502 Direct Loan Program. The new deadline is Dec. 31, 2013. The RHS will review all submitted education packages, each of which should include a course background, a copy of a certificate of completion, a price sheet, and the user’s contact information. HUD Extends Recertification Filing Deadline for All Lenders. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended the ...

In the third quarter of 2013, the level of home-mortgage debt outstanding grew for the first time since early 2008 as the housing industry continued to climb out of the crater. The Federal Reserve this week announced there was $9.864 trillion of single-family mortgages outstanding at the end of September, a tiny 0.1 percent increase from the previous quarter. But after four and half years of decline, the gain seemed monumental. The central bank noted that all the increase was in first mortgages, while the supply of home-equity loans outstanding continued to shrink. Servicing attached to Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs continued...[Includes one data chart]

Mortgage debt outstanding is on the rise again after after five long years of winter. Should mortgage servicers pop the champagne?

“We are expecting to see people trying to inflate their income or hiding and downplaying their monthly obligations,” said Interthinx's Ann Fulmer.

Senior lawmakers in the Senate said they remain “bullish” on moving legislation to the floor sooner rather than later in 2014.

Want to sell a large chunk of MSRs? If it's Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac product you'll have to run the deal past the FHFA.