FHA has announced updates to the Electronic Appraisal Delivery (EAD) portal and FHA Connection (FHAC) to make it easier for entities to view and work with appraisal reports. The latest improvement would ensure that EAD portal users, lenders/underwriters in particular, are approving appraisal reports for the FHA case number assigned to them. The FHA also released guidance regarding case transfers in relation to appraisal reports in the EAD portal and FHA Connection. If, prior to case transfer, the original mortgagee uploaded an appraisal, the new mortgagee to whom the case was transferred will be unable to view the appraisal in EAD. Hence, the new mortgagee must obtain a copy of the appraisal from the original mortgagee and submit it through the EAD portal. The original mortgagee must first transfer the case number to the new mortgagee in FHAC. Once the case transfer is complete, the ...

USMI Names MGIC Chief as Chairman. U.S. Mortgage Insurance has tapped Patrick Sinks, chief executive of MGIC Investment Corp., to be the trade group’s new chairman. Sinks succeeds USMI Chairman Rohit Gupta, president and CEO of Genworth Mortgage Insurance. Sinks served previously as USMI’s vice chairman. Bradley Shuster, chairman/chief executive for NMI Holdings, will take overNew Reverse-Mortgage Product. California Mortgage Advisors has expanded its reverse-mortgage menu, with the addition of a non-FHA reverse mortgage option of up to $6 million for select clients. With the new product, CMA joins a handful of private reverse-mortgage lenders that will consider properties valued up to $6 million. Last year, American Advisors Group, the largest Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lender, announced its AAG Advantage lending program, which features the ...

The decline in interest rates after the Brexit vote in late June has boosted mortgage originations in recent weeks and caused problems for holders of mortgage servicing rights, according to industry participants at the California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Western Secondary Market Conference in San Francisco this week. Mike Duncan, a hedge manager at Compass Analytics, said 25 percent of his firm’s clients were over capacity at the end of May and 40 percent were over capacity by the end of June. He predicted that over-capacity rates could go even higher if interest rates stay low, increasing demand for refinances. Compass provides pricing, valuation and interest rate risk-management services. Rob Branthover, a managing director at Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp., added...

In late January of this year, American International Group announced its intention to spin off 10 percent of its top-ranked mortgage insurance affiliate, United Guaranty Corp., but almost seven months later no deal has materialized. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance this week, it’s been “radio silent” regarding the initial public offering, but all that could change next week when AIG releases its second quarter results. A spokesman for UGC declined to comment on the matter. Most of the observers believe...

The Republican platform, released this week during the Republican National Convention, would scale back the government’s role in housing and make borrowers and lenders more responsible. But it offered a somewhat vague prescription for what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Our goal is to advance responsible homeownership while guarding against the abuses that led to the housing collapse,” the platform states. The GOP said housing reform should include clear underwriting standards and guidelines on predatory and acceptable lending practices – standards that are arguably at the core of the Dodd-Frank Act that’s roundly criticized by the party. Republicans blamed...

Mortgages that allow buyers to make low downpayments are making a quiet comeback, according to a recent analysis from Deutsche Bank. But do they have the staying power? So far, seven lenders have partnered with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in special programs to offer loans requiring anywhere from no money down to 3 percent down. Although the government-sponsored enterprises cap their high loan-to-value product at 97 percent, some lenders step in and subsidize the extra funds needed to make up the difference. The GSEs began...

Stakeholders in the MBS market should pay attention to a recent U.S. 11th Circuit opinion concerning a jury verdict in which the court focused on the similarities and differences between two kinds of securities fraud, suggested attorneys in their analysis of the case. Although the opinion in SEC v. Radius Capital Corp. is unpublished and not a binding precedent, it gives further clarity to two of the most important rules used by the Securities and Exchange Commission in targeting securities fraud, according to attorneys with the law firm Carlton Fields. The SEC sued...

While some banks have reduced their FHA lending in recent years and alternatives from the government-sponsored enterprises are still gaining traction, homebuyers still have access to low-downpayment mortgage programs, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. “Most real estate agents say high loan-to-value ratio mortgages are readily available, especially for homebuyers with good credit,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. The HousingPulse survey covering activity in June included...

The U.S. Senate last week passed legislation easing FHA rules on condominium financing even as condo reform rules are undergoing clearance at the Office of Management and Budget. H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016, was approved by unanimous consent. The bill passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 427-0 back in February. Industry observers say the bill would essentially codify long-anticipated guidelines the Department of Housing and Urban Development has drafted. Among other things, the bill requires...

The FHA this week clarified its policy on insuring mortgages with PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) senior tax liens to make it easier for borrowers to obtain FHA financing for such mortgages, but the mortgage and real estate industries continue to have concerns. The new guidelines address state programs where the PACE obligation is treated like a property tax with priority over an FHA lien. The program provides financing for home-energy improvements and water conservation, and is repaid through an assessment added to the property’s tax bill. The guidelines are designed...