The Department of Housing and Urban Development has codified significant changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program that have reduced risks to both FHA and reverse mortgage borrowers. Specifically, the rule codifies existing HECM policies implemented by mortgagee letters, implements statutory changes, issues new origination and servicing policies, and clarifies existing regulatory language. HUD said it has established an eight-month lead time between the publication of the final rule and the effective date, Sept. 19, 2017, to provide lenders enough time to understand the rule and plan for necessary changes. The grace period also allows time for FHA to issue guidance and make system changes. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association expressed support for the final rule. “Personally, I am glad to see this final rule get out the door,” said NRMLA President and ...
Effective Feb. 13, 2017, VA lenders will be required to submit prior-approval mortgage loans electronically through the WebLGY system to improve the prior-approval process. Currently, lenders mail their prior-loan approval packages to the regional loan center that has jurisdiction over loan underwriting – a tedious, time-consuming process. Electronic submission will help speed things up, the VA indicated. Lenders must follow the guidelines for prior approval and stacking order in the VA’s Lender Handbook. In addition, lenders must furnish a cover letter with the uploaded package stating the reasons for the prior approval and explaining any unique circumstances. The cover letter also must include the submitting underwriter’s name, phone number and email address as well as contact information for the underwriter’s manager. The lender must ensure that the file contains the correct and complete ...
The nation’s largest banks revealed better-than-expected residential origination figures (for some) and mouth-watering markups on the value of their servicing portfolios. That’s the good news. But it wasn’t all wine and roses. On the servicing front, BOK Financial revealed that fourth quarter income was reduced by $17.4 million because it left servicing-related hedges on the books for too long, betting that rates would stay low for an extended period of time. PNC Bank saw...[Includes one data table]
Antonio Weiss, counselor to the secretary of the Treasury Department, cautioned that any reduction to the corporate tax rate could prompt a draw from Treasury funds by the GSEs.
The number of “sold” homes failing to seal the deal come closing time is growing. A new report from Trulia shows that the “sales fail” rate has jumped from 2.1 percent in 2015 to 3.9 percent in 2016. Trulia noted that there was an even bigger jump in incomplete sales in the past two years. Of all listed properties in the fourth quarter of 2014, only 1.4 percent did not reach the closing table. But in the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of failed sales catapulted to 4.3 percent. The reasons those sales are falling through the cracks range...
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