The FHA’s 203(k) Property Repair and Rehabilitation program could use some jolt as inflexible agency guidelines, construction inexperience and closing delays continue to constrain loan growth. Origination of FHA-insured fixer-upper loans fell 10.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to $762.7 million from $856.2 million in the previous quarter. It was a different story year-over-year, however, as volume during the first three months rose 20.8 percent compared to volume during the same period last year. The top five FHA 203(k) lenders struggled as their combined loan production dropped 9.4 percent quarter-over-quarter and by 3.0 percent on a year-to-year basis. Their combined originations accounted for $157.5 million of total FHA 203(k) loan production for the first quarter. Purchase loans accounted for $131.0 million of rehab loans originated during the period while refinance loans totaled a ... [ 1 chart ]

Lenders will face higher penalties for violations of agency rules and regulations as the FHA and the Department of Veterans Affairs adjust their respective maximum civil monetary penalties for inflation. The adjustments are mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which also requires publication of an interim final rule showing the current and adjusted penalty amounts. Effective June 22, 2016, VA’s maximum civil monetary penalties for false loan guaranty certification increased from $10,000 to $21,563, and from $5,500 to $10,781 for fraudulent claims or statements in any VA program. Comments on the VA interim final rule must be received on or before Aug. 22, 2016. Meanwhile, the FHA also is making inflation adjustments for its maximum civil penalties through an interim final rule that will take effect Aug. 15, 2016, the day before the ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to conduct computer-based training for appraisal managers to improve the way they assess the VA Home Loan Guaranty program’s appraisal process. The VA said it hopes to garner more positive feedback from staff appraisal reviewers this year by having them train with LoanSafe Appraisal Manager (LSAM). LSAM, an appraisal risk-analysis tool from CoreLogic, automatically evaluates all the data and form fields in an appraisal, quickly returning an easy-to-use summary of key valuation, market-risk factors and compliance issues. In June last year, the VA announced an automated Appraisal Management Service (AMS) that includes the LSAM product for use in enhancing the appraisal review process prior to issuance of the Notice of Value. The AMS system provides lender and servicer appraisal processing programs and staff appraisal reviewers (SARs), which will ...

A new 1 percent home loan product has quietly hit the market to help qualified, cash-strapped borrowers overcome one of the biggest obstacles to homeownership: downpayment. With significant variation in details, the 1 percent down mortgages offered by Quicken Loans and Guaranteed Rate stem from their partnerships with Freddie Mac and are structured as part of Freddie’s Home Possible Advantage program. In Quicken’s version, the borrower pays...

Last week, Ocwen Financial agreed to a $30 million settlement with the Department of Justice regarding two lawsuits that alleged violations of the False Claims Act. The lawsuits alleged that Ocwen Loan Servicing and Ocwen’s Homeward Residential division violated the FCA by falsely certifying their compliance with the Home Affordable Modification Program and FHA insurance programs, thus rendering all HAMP incentive and FHA insurance payments on Ocwen- or Homeward-serviced loans false claims. One of the cases was scheduled...

The New York legislature approved a bill late last week that will require servicers handling loans in the state to maintain vacant properties in certain circumstances. The requirements were strongly opposed by the Mortgage Bankers Association. In general, the new law requires servicers of residential mortgages in New York to complete an exterior inspection of properties within 90 days of a borrower’s delinquency to determine the occupancy status of the property. The law also requires ongoing inspections of properties related to severely delinquent mortgages every 25 to 35 days. If the servicer has a reasonable basis to believe that a property is vacant and abandoned, the servicer is...

Jumbo mortgage originations declined by 2.0 percent during the first quarter of 2016, mirroring the modest downturn in overall mortgage lending from the previous quarter. Jumbo originations – including loans that were within the high-cost loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA – totaled $100.61 billion in the first quarter, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. The sector accounted for 26.5 percent of total originations during the first three months of the year, down slightly from a 26.7 percent share in the fourth quarter. The jumbo share of total originations has generally been...[Includes three data tables]

First-time homebuyers account for a growing share of home purchases, and even though housing inventory is limited, originations of mortgages for first-time homebuyers are up sharply. First-time homebuyers accounted for 40.8 percent of home purchases in May, according to results from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The share for first-time homebuyers, based on a three-month moving average, was the highest level seen in more than five years. “Demand from first-time homebuyers is...

The sale of residential mortgage servicing rights has been gaining steam the past few weeks – unless you happen to be in the market for Ginnie Mae product. In particular, there’s a growing concern about price discounts on Ginnie servicing rights, and a strong belief that the agency – including its president, Ted Tozer – is once again getting anxious about so many nonbanks being such large players in the market. Tozer is so concerned about the matter that the agency – with the help of the Mortgage Bankers Association – is hosting what’s been described as a “liquidity summit” in Washington, DC, with several stakeholders and regulators, including officials from the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury. The summit, closed to the media, is scheduled for June 24. Ginnie issued...

Streamlined mortgage refinancing with FHA and VA guarantees continued its strong growth in the first quarter of 2016, thanks mainly to low interest rates and program features, according to an analysis of agency quarterly and monthly reports. Agency-backed streamlined refinancing refers to the refinance of an existing FHA or VA loan requiring limited borrower credit documentation and underwriting and no appraisal. Streamlining applies only to the amount of documentation and underwriting the lender must perform and not to the costs in the transaction. VA IRRRL (interest rate reduction refinance loans) production rose...