Legislation that would keep VA funding fees at their current levels through FY 2016 was sent this week to President Obama for signature. The House of Representatives passed the bill, H.R. 674, the 3 Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act of 2011, on Nov. 16, with amendments from the Senate. The Senate approved the bill on Nov. 10. The president is expected to sign the bill. However, if the bill is not signed by Nov. 18, funding fees will decrease as scheduled for a short period, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs in a published guidance to VA lenders. If funding fees do reset to the lower amounts ...

The FHA and the Internal Revenue Service are working on implementing electronic signatures in loan documents and certain federal tax forms in 2012. In a recent letter to members, David Stevens, president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the trade group has been working with both agencies for the past 18 months to allow the use of e-signatures on FHA loan documents and to automate the IRS Form 4506-T process as early as next year. Form 4506-T is a request for a transcript of a filer’s tax return.

A federal judge in Houston ruled that Allied Home Mortgage Corp. can continue to originate and underwrite FHA-insured loans, putting into question the validity of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s suspension of the lender’s FHA privileges. U.S. District Court Judge Melinda Harmon, in a 22-page decision issued filed on Nov. 15, said the “potential destruction” of Allied’s business outweighs any harm the government would suffer before the issues can be litigated.

Three new housing professionals have joined the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Single Family, Risk Management and Multifamily offices. Sarah Garecke was named senior policy advisor in the Single Family Office and will help organize the new Office of Housing Counseling. She was previously with the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University’s School of Law, where she launched the Institute for Affordable Housing Policy. She also co-authored the Directory of Affordable Housing Programs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to conduct a comprehensive study on the impact of pre-purchase homeownership counseling based on results for low- and moderate-income first-time FHA homebuyers.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage claims increased by a whopping 48.3 percent in FY 2011 from last year, while the number of loans originated under the program also fell on a year-over-year basis, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA data. HECM claims were up to 7,951 in 2011 compared to 5,361 claims filed under the program the year before.

Despite several high-profile retreats from the wholesale production channel in recent months, the mortgage industry was pressed to rely more on mortgage brokers and correspondents to meet the increased consumer demand for refinance loans during the third quarter. A new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking reveals that wholesale loan production increased by 27.7 percent from the second quarter, while the still-dominant retail channel posted a more modest 15.2 percent gain. Many companies have been paring back their retail capacity during 2011 as origination volumes fell sharply through...(Includes four data charts)

The Obama administration this week proposed a new rule that would establish uniform procedures for the resolution of disparate impact allegations under the Fair Housing Act at a time when the whole legal underpinnings of disparate impact are slated for review by the U. S. Supreme Court. In a proposed rule that has been in preparation for months, the Department of Housing and Urban Development argued that it has the authority to apply the disparate impact theory of discrimination in the context of fair housing, including fair lending charges. The purpose of the proposed rule, HUD says, is to clear up uncertainty about...

Although some changes under the revised Home Affordable Refinance Program will take effect as early as next month, key features such as automated underwriting and new securitization executions will not be available until well into 2012. Observers found no surprises in the HARP 2.0 seller-servicer bulletins issued this week by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and most expect only a modest expansion in program activity. In many cases, the new rules reflect a standardization of the existing programs offered by the government-sponsored enterprises. Among the new changes are a lifting of the existing 125 percent...

Slashing the pay of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives would almost certainly lead to an accelerated brain drain and increased losses that would have to be covered by taxpayers, said the heads of the two government-sponsored enterprises and their regulator during hearings on Capitol Hill this week. It’s a tough sell. The House Financial Services Committee this week approved legislation to suspend bonus payments to top GSE officials and move Fannie and Freddie to a government pay scale. Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward DeMarco appeared before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban...