The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week announced the latest changes designed to bolster the solvency of the FHA and ease Congress’ fear of a potential taxpayer bailout. The announcement is in connection with additional reforms, which FHA Commissioner Carol Galante committed to in an agreement with Sen. Bob Corker, R-TN. In a deal that cleared the way to her confirmation as FHA chief, Galante promised to have the measures in place by the end of the month to better manage risk and strengthen the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. As expected, HUD is...

Outside investors poking around the mortgage banking industry for a possible franchise deal first and foremost want the companies they’re courting to have Ginnie Mae approvals. “If you have the Ginnie eagle, it’s golden,” said Chuck Klein, managing director for mergers and acquisitions for Mortgage Banking Solutions. “Retained Ginnie servicing is what it’s all about.” Klein, of course, isn’t...

Mortgage bankers funded $232.69 billion worth of FHA loans in 2012, a 22 percent jump from the year prior, but the improvement pales in comparison to business gains experienced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to exclusive loan-level data compiled by Inside FHA Lending. By comparison, Fannie grew its business by almost 46 percent last year with Freddie improving loan purchases from seller/servicers by 49 percent. Still, it was FHA’s best quarterly showing ($64.03 billion) since the fourth quarter of 2010 when mortgage lenders originated $72.12 billion of product. And not surprisingly, consumers taking out FHA loans ... [2 charts]

Take extra time to read your FHA Annual Recertification Attestation before signing. It might make the difference between peace of mind and a world of pain. Phillip Schulman, compliance expert and partner with K&L Gates, said lenders have gotten themselves in hot water with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and their executives threatened with debarment, because they failed to read the fine print. Each year, mortgage lenders are required to sign and submit to HUD a document attesting to the company’s compliance with all HUD-FHA regulations and policies and that ...

Can a lender rely on an approval from the FHA’s automated underwriting system in determining whether a mortgage loan is a “qualified mortgage?” Lawyers at BuckleySandler, a Washington, DC, law firm, indicated some uncertainty after poring over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final “ability-to-repay” rule governing residential mortgage lending under new Truth in Lending Act regulations. Effective on Jan. 10, 2014, the final rule requires lenders to verify a borrower’s financial information and determine the borrower’s capacity to repay the loan over the long term. It also creates a ...

Poor oversight and monitoring have allowed certain borrowers with Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans to illegally rent their properties to participants in the federal government’s Section 8 housing choice voucher program, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The second of two OIG audit reports on HUD’s oversight of the HECM program has concluded that department policies did not always ensure that borrowers complied with the program’s residency requirements. The audit found that 37 out of 174 HECM borrowers reviewed were ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating reports that a loan officer of an approved FHA lender had participated in a reverse mortgage borrower’s counseling session, a practice HUD frowns upon but does not directly prohibit. A HUD representative declined to provide details but acknowledged that the report was part of informal discussions between department officials and stakeholders. “That information … has not been officially released in any form,” he said. “Once the details are finalized, we will be advising stakeholders.” The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association posted the ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced new security measures to ensure that only authorized lenders and servicers have access to mortgage-related data. Guidance issued earlier this month establishes new security procedures for resetting users’ PIN numbers and validating their identities. Users must be validated as an employee of the lender/servicer that seeks access to the VA’s Veteran Information Portal (VIP). The VA will provide each approved lender/servicer with a list of previous users for validation. Upon completion of the validation, the list must be ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has sweetened the pot to encourage more investors to participate in an FHA program for disposing of real estate-owned properties to ease HUD’s housing inventory. HUD announced it is raising the discount for REO properties under its First Look Sales Method to 15 percent from 10 percent. Properties include those that do not meet the standards for FHA insurance. The special program was launched in 2010 to give preference to eligible purchasers under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) to ...

Some FHA lenders are seeing new opportunities in the distressed property market as they offer new or expand on existing 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage insurance products. Houston-based Envoy Mortgage, a full-service mortgage banker with retail branches across the country, has broadened its FHA 203(k) product line to include a full 203(k) option. The option allows borrowers to devote more funds for repair and renovation, which are rolled into the mortgage amount. The full 203(k) option is a step up from what Envoy is already offering – a “streamline” 203(k) program designed for borrowers that have ...