Revised forms lenders must file when submitting a mortgage loan for FHA insurance became mandatory on Aug. 1, raising hope for more lender participation in the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program without fear of liability. The improved form, HUD/VA Addendum to the Universal Residential Loan Application (Form 92900-A), eliminates the requirement that lenders certify to their compliance with all FHA requirements. The FHA first proposed changes to ...

Regions Financial Corp., a $125 billion Alabama bank, has reached a preliminary settlement with the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to resolve an investigation into the bank’s FHA lending practices. The reason for the investigation was not disclosed in the bank’s 10-Q filing, although Regions acknowledged that DOJ and the HUD inspector general are focusing on its FHA loan origination procedures, underwriting and ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued new guidance to clarify the loan-fee structure for VA purchase and refinance mortgages, loan assumptions and manufactured home loans. The detailed funding fees are in effect for VA loans closed on or after Nov. 22, 2011, and before Sept. 30, 2024. For first-time use of the VA housing benefit, a VA loan with a downpayment of less than 5 percent would have a funding fee of 2.15 percent for veterans and 2.40 percent for reservists ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking comment on a supplemental proposal, which would require an FHA lender to file a claim when a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan reaches 98 percent of the maximum claim amount. The proposal stems from another proposed rule published by HUD last May that would codify previous revisions to the HECM program and make additional changes. The proposal would provide the lender an opportunity ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general has urged the agency to direct FHA lenders to show documented proof that properties in Flint, MI, had a safe and potable water source at the time their FHA loans were closed and endorsed, or face indemnification. The HUD IG, in a report, said it audited the department’s oversight of FHA-insured loans in Flint in the wake of news reports of high levels of lead contamination in the city’s public water system ...

The FHA’s and VA’s acceptance of residential properties with existing senior PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) liens is credit positive for asset-backed securities backed by PACE assessments and could have a mixed effect on some residential mortgage-backed securities, according to a new analysis by Moody’s Investors Services. The move is expected to expand the availability of mortgage financing for purchasers of homes with PACE obligations as well as ...

Interest Rate for VA Streamline Modifications. Servicers initiating a trial payment plan (TPP) for a VA streamline loan modification may seek pre-approval from the Department of Veterans Affairs to complete the modification with an interest based on the approval date of the TPP instead of the interest rate at the time the modification was approved. All pre-approval requests must be submitted prior to the TPP agreement or loan modification ... [Includes three briefs]

Lenders originated home loans that included primary mortgage insurance at a hectic pace during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. A whopping $196.23 billion of new mortgage originations carried private MI during the second quarter, including significant increases in both private MI and government-insured mortgage insurance. That was up 34.1 percent from the first three months of 2016, and represented the biggest quarterly total on record. Private MI posted...[Includes three data tables]

There’s more than $50.0 billion in capital ready to acquire new nonprime home loans, including non-qualified mortgages, according to Dan Perl, chairman and CEO of Citadel Servicing, a nonprime lender. “Liquidity is abundant,” he said last week at the California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Western Secondary Market Conference in San Francisco. “There is a ready market for this and I couldn’t say that two years ago.” William Pendleton, a senior vice president of portfolio lending at Caliber Home Loans, said...

Despite quickening refinance activity, the FHA single-family market soared over the $1 trillion mark in loans pooled in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis. A record $1.001 trillion of FHA single-family loans made up the lion’s share of collateral backing Ginnie MBS as of the end of June. That was a 1.3 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 5.5 percent gain from the midway point in 2015. Steady growth in FHA loans helped push Ginnie single-family MBS to $1.576 trillion outstanding, topping Freddie Mac for second place in the agency market. The VA loan guaranty program was still the fastest-growing corner of the government-insured market, with total VA loans in Ginnie pools up 3.8 percent from March and 16.7 percent higher than a year ago. The actual amount of FHA and VA loans outstanding is somewhat ... [ 4 charts ]