An Urban Institute analysis echoed observations in the FY 2015 actuarial audit of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, calling for the separation of the highly volatile reverse mortgage portfolio from the fund. Assessing the performances of the larger forward mortgage portfolio and the smaller Home Equity Conversion Mortgage portfolio when determining FHA’s financial status results in an inaccurate picture, warned Laurie Goodman, director of the institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center. Including the highly unstable, unpredictable HECM business in FHA’s solvency calculation severely distorts the fund’s true financial condition, she said. Goodman’s dire warning puts a damper on the actuarial audit, which, for the first time since 2009, reported the fund’s capital ratio over the 2.0 percent statutory threshold, up from 0.41 percent in FY 2014 and a year earlier than projected in the ...
Customer satisfaction tends to be higher for the VA and FHA single-family mortgage programs than for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Survey. So-called special mortgage programs, such as FHA and VA, showed a substantial improvement in customer satisfaction in 2015 compared to last year. VA customer satisfaction averaged 818 this year, up from 805 in 2014, while FHA customer satisfaction also averaged 818, an improvement from 794 in 2015, said Craig Martin, director of mortgage practice at J.D. Power. On the other hand, overall customer satisfaction with Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-related mortgage originations averaged 793 in 2015, an increase of 7 points from 2014. The annual study measures customer satisfaction with mortgage origination in six areas: application/approval process ...
The House Financial Services Committee this week passed H.R. 3700, the “Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act,” moving forward reform measures that would make it easier for condominium investors to obtain FHA financing. Sponsored by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-MO, chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-MO, the bill passed with a bipartisan vote of 44-10. Among other things, the bill would ease FHA’s restrictions on the purchase and sale of condo units. It includes changes to the certification and recertification process, owner/occupancy ratio, commercial space requirements and private transfer fees. Specifically, H.R. 3700 would require the streamlining of the FHA condo recertification process by considering a longer time period before a condo project recertifies. Currently, certification is ...
The VA Home Loan Guaranty program has announced a new percentage that lenders can use in calculating the purchase price of a property securing a terminated loan. The new percentage becomes effective on Dec. 23, 2015. When a veteran borrower defaults on a VA loan, the agency is obligated to pay a guaranty claim to the loan holder. If requirements are satisfied, a foreclosing loan holder also has the option of conveying a foreclosed property to VA. A key component in conveying a property to the VA is the net value of the property to the federal government. Net value, essentially, is the fair market value of the property minus the total cost the agency estimates it would incur in acquiring and disposing of the property. A percentage that VA computes annually represents the costs of acquisition and disposition. The agency refers to this computed percentage as the “cost factor.” VA is continuing ...
HUD-IG Issues Industry Warning Against HECM Refi Scam. The inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued an alert to warn lenders, originators and sponsors about fraudulent appraisals that are being used to inflate reverse loan amounts in order to qualify borrowers for HECM financing. Auditors have reviewed HECM refinances over the last several years and have found indications of fraud in hundreds of HECM loans, the IG said. Specifically, appraised values were inflated by 60 to 100 percent or more above the collateral’s actual market value. FHA Announces Lender Recertification Webinar. The FHA will present an online webinar that will assist FHA lenders with the upcoming lender recertification process. Scheduled for Dec. 15, 2015, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., EST, the webinar will provide details and tips on how FHA lenders can submit an ...
Some 66.5 percent of the loans to be included in the MBS are purchase mortgages. The mortgages have seasoned for four months, on average and none were delinquent at the time the deal was priced.
This lender said finding good appraisers can sometimes be a challenge and predicted that eventually appraisals on such mortgages could cost upwards of $1,000…
Search engine giant Google recently launched a new mortgage comparison tool that allows borrowers and lenders to search for the lowest rates, a development that will be carefully watched for the simple reason that, well, it’s Google. The mortgage tool is a part of Google Compare, a service that allows consumers to compare options for various products, such as credit cards and auto insurance. Though the effort is branded with Google’s name, the company has teamed up with Zillow and LendingTree to introduce this service. Compare allows...
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