“In recent client meetings, Stratmor heard that lender fees are now being included in the rate sheet price,” Yung said. Indications are that the 3 percent cap is causing lenders to fold the lender fees into the rate – specifically on the retail side.

The high cost of FHA loans, due mainly to higher MI premiums and a requirement to maintain mortgage insurance for the life of the loan, has made it difficult for borrowers to obtain credit.

The price quotes can vary greatly depending on the size of the company being targeted, especially if there’s a servicing portfolio and platform that needs to be looked at.

House Financial Services Committee Formally Passes More CFPB Legislation. The House Financial Services Committee took final votes on some potentially significant CFPB-related measures. H.R. 1779, the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-TN, was approved by voice vote. H.R. 4521, the Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2014, introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-MO, was approved 43-16. H.R. 4466, the Financial Regulatory Clarity Act of 2014, introduced by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-WV, was approved 34-25. H.R. 2673, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, introduced by Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, was approved 36-23. H.R. 3211, the Mortgage Choice Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-MI, was passed by voice vote ...

President Obama is expected to announce his intent to nominate Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan as director of the Office of Management and Budget and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to replace him. If confirmed by the Senate, Castro would be the second Hispanic after Henry Cisneros to assume the top post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also a former mayor of San Antonio, Cisneros served as HUD secretary during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 1997. Currently in his third term as mayor, Castro is a strong advocate of affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, inner-city investment and child education and works closely with the San Antonio Housing Authority. San Antonio mortgage bankers said they have had little interaction with Castro, who, they say is “big on housing issues.” “We’re hoping to hear a little bit more about his ...

Only an approved lender-servicer may subservice FHA 203(k) rehabilitation mortgages and their escrow accounts, according to a reminder issued this week by the FHA. The FHA said one of the functions of a servicer of FHA-insured property rehabilitation loan is to service the loan’s escrow account. The same rule applies when servicing is delegated to another party, the agency said. The FHA allows an approved FHA servicer to farm out the work as long as the delegated third party is also agency-approved. HUD regulations state that the lender remain fully responsible for proper servicing and that the subservicer’s actions is also considered to be the actions of the lender. The FHA further reminded lenders of the importance of updating FHA systems with any mortgage record changes as outlined in previous guidance. HUD requires that FHA systems ...

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is calling upon the CFPB and the Federal Housing Finance Agency to be more transparent about how they plan to use the information they want to collect for their joint National Mortgage Database. “First and foremost, NAFCU believes greater transparency should be provided by the FHFA and CFPB on what this information is being used for and which divisions within each agency have access to it,” NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Angela Meyster said in a letter to the FHFA. In addition, NAFCU urged the FHFA and CFPB to select only robust and representative subsets of the data when they seek to use it to support particular policies or rulemakings. “Further, the agencies should ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is planning to auction $4.8 billion of nonperforming single-family mortgage loans in two offerings under the FHA Single Family Loan Sale (SFLS) initiative. The auction – HUD SFLS 2014-2 – will be next month. A national offering of roughly 23,200 loans totaling $4 billion in unpaid principal balance is scheduled for a bid on June 11. The second part of the auction is an offering of 4,800 loans totaling $800 million in UPB in designated geographic areas that are aimed at a neighborhood stabilization outcome or “NSO-targeted” loan pools. Bidding will be on June 25. The eight NSO regions for the June offering are Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Bernardino County, CA, and Cumberland County., NJ. SEBA Professional Services, a woman-owned contracting firm, has ...

The FHA has proposed to bring its adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) rules in line with those of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to enable FHA lenders to comply with the new servicing requirements under the Truth in Lending Act. Specifically, two proposed changes would align both agencies’ interest-rate adjustment and disclosure-notification regulations for ARM borrowers as required by the revised TILA. The CFPB issued its final TILA servicing rule in February 2013 but delayed the effective date for another year to allow the Department of Housing and Urban Development sufficient time to write rules for new notification requirements for FHA-insured ARMs with a 30-day look-back period. Hence, FHA ARMs must comply with the new TILA rule on or after Jan. 10, 2015. The FHA insures 1-, 3-, 5-, 7- or 10-year ARMs. The CFPB’s revised look-back period and notification requirements would ...

Qualified mortgage guidelines under the CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule were among the top 10 issues identified as problem areas likely affecting home selling, according to a new Campbell Surveys study sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliated newsletter. Among real estate agents surveyed, 26.4 percent cited QM guidelines as an obstacle. “Due to the new Dodd Frank guidelines, fewer buyers will be qualified to purchase homes, which will ultimately affect my livelihood as well,” one Realtor said. Another commenter said, “QRM [qualified residential mortgage] and QM guidelines are already causing issues for some buyers,” even though the QRM has yet to be finalized. “Lenders won’t pre-approve but only pre-qualify. Buyers are frustrated even with good credit scores and good ratios.” A...