The Department of Housing and Urban Development is urging Congress not to raise the minimum downpayment on FHA mortgage loans, saying that downpayments are not the best indicator of loan defaults. Testifying before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing/FHA Commissioner Carol Galante warned that a legislative proposal to raise FHA’s minimum downpayment requirement to 5 percent would forestall recovery in the housing market and restrict access to credit for worthy borrowers. Galante said HUD has not made any determination as to ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is pondering its next move after discussing with mortgage industry representatives their concerns about extending the current forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to a maximum of 12 months. HUD and FHA officials met recently with the Mortgage Bankers Association and several small mortgage servicers, which took issue with FHA’s recently revised forbearance policy. HUD declined to discuss the outcome of the meeting, saying it was more about understanding the industry’s concerns and discussing solutions. “No decision has been made as to whether we can or will make any changes, but we are looking into the issues they have raised,” said a HUD spokesman. On July 7, the FHA announced ...

Losses on re-performing FHA/VA mortgage pools are expected to rise as servicers cut back on the claims they submit to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and pass on to mortgage securitization trusts instead, according to a recent analysis by Moody’s Investors Service. With FHA experiencing increasing losses in its portfolio, HUD is scrutinizing claims more vigorously for servicing or underwriting defects, which may serve as a basis for denying claims on re-performing FHA/VA pools. Servicers are also required to bring the property to an acceptable conveyance condition. Furthermore, HUD imposes very strict timeline guidelines that FHA servicers must follow. Given the recent servicing irregularities and staffing constraints due to rising defaults, servicers may not always ...

A coalition of industry and advocacy groups is flexing its collective muscle as it prepares to push Senate legislation extending the current maximum mortgage loan limits. The group, comprised of 14 financial and real estate trade and advocacy associations, are lining up behind S. 1508, the Homeownership Affordability Act of 2011, which would extend the temporary high-cost area loan limit through the end of 2013. Introduced by Sens. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, and Johnny Isakson, R-GA, the bill complements a similar bipartisan effort by Reps. John Campbell, R-CA, and Gary Ackerman, D-NY, in the House Financial Services Committee to keep ...

Recent changes to Ginnie Mae’s repurchase policy are getting positive reviews from analysts. Announced on Aug. 26, the revised loan buyout policy will make it easier for servicers and issuers to buy delinquent home loans out of Ginnie Mae pools without having to wait 90 days for the loan to become eligible for repurchase. Before the change, pool repurchases were allowed only if a borrower missed three consecutive mortgage payments. Under the revised policy, issuers can buy delinquent loans out of the pool while the borrower is making partial payments under an FHA or VA trial payment plan as a prerequisite for a permanent modification. On the surface, the revised policy would appear ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking comment on a proposed rule that would expand FHA-insured lending in rural areas. Published in the Aug. 26 Federal Register, the proposed rule would allow direct lenders in the Farm Credit System to participate in the FHA mortgage insurance programs as approved mortgagees or lenders. Although participation in the mortgage insurance programs is voluntary, Farm Credit System financial institutions must comply with FHA approval requirements. The comment period ends Oct. 25. Recent difficulties in mortgage finance markets have reduced the availability of housing credit in rural areas, where the FHA currently does very limited business. Consequently, HUD proposes ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently provided guidance to housing counselors and lenders regarding changes made to the layout and administration of HUD’s Certificate of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Counseling. HUD’s Certificate of HECM Counseling, identified as Form HUD 92902, is provided by housing counselor as proof that a homeowner interested in pursuing a HECM product has received information about the implications of and alternatives to a reverse mortgage. The HECM counselor must adhere to all of FHA’s guidelines regarding information that must be provided to the HECM borrower. With respect to the form’s layout under Mortgagee Letter 2011-31, HUD has inserted ...

The reverse mortgage arena experienced another shake-up as SunTrust Bank, citing poor volume, quite the business even as J.G. Wentworth, the largest purchaser of future payment products, announced its entry into the market. Atlanta-based SunTrust stopped accepting new reverse mortgage applications as of Sept. 1, although it is continuing to process applications already in the pipeline. A statement from the bank indicated that low production volume was the reason for management’s decision to leave the reverse mortgage business and to focus resources instead on mortgage origination and servicing. The market also lost ...

FHA lending continued its downward trend as total originations fell 9.5 percent in July from the previous month and a whopping 41.2 percent on a year-to-year basis, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of the latest data. The market saw production drop to $14.8 billion in July from $16.3 billion on a monthly basis and from $25.1 billion the same period last year. Fixed-rate mortgages comprised the bulk of originations at 93.7 percent, while purchase mortgages accounted for 78.5 percent of loans endorsed for FHA insurance for the month of July. In addition, 79.3 percent of FHA-insured loans were originated ... {includes one data chart]

Government-insured mortgage programs held up a little better than the overall market during the second quarter of 2011, edging back toward the higher market shares they recorded in late 2009 and early last year, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. FHA and VA lending accounted for 27.2 percent of new loan originations in the second quarter, despite a 5.3 percent drop in volume. That represented the highest market penetration for the government programs since early 2010, when they accounted for 28.8 percent of new originations. The all-time high market share for FHA and VA was back in the fourth quarter of 2008, at... [Includes two data charts]