The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ditched the antiquated method for assessing servicer compliance with reverse mortgage-servicing rules in favor of new examination procedures. Depending on the scope, each reverse mortgage-servicing exam will include one or more of eight modules covering various facets of reverse mortgage servicing. There are two kinds of reverse mortgages. The FHA, under the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, insures most reverse mortgages. As with other FHA mortgage products, it has a maximum loan amount. Some lenders also offer proprietary (non-HECM) reverse mortgages, which are designed generally for borrowers with higher home values and more equity, the CFPB noted. Proprietary reverse mortgages are not federally insured. However, companies that offer them copy the consumer protections found in the HECM program, including ...
Stakeholders voiced support for an FHA proposal to revive the agency’s single-unit approval policy for condominium financing but differed on owner-occupancy requirements. Both items are part of a proposed rule which would give the FHA more wiggle room in formulating its condo rules. The proposed rule’s 60-day comment period ended on Nov. 28. Among other things, the FHA is proposing to reinstate “spot approval” financing on individual units in condo projects that are not currently approved for FHA insurance. The Department of Housing and Urban Development terminated single-unit approvals a few years ago in favor of mandatory condo-project approval. Ultimately, the current approval process proved to be more cumbersome, resulting in many condo projects opting out of FHA. Under the proposed rule, single-unit approvals are limited to a maximum of 20 percent of the units in the ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has expressed concern about the inspector general’s decision to withhold its opinion on the results of FY 2016 audits of HUD and Ginnie Mae. In its audit report, the HUD inspector general said it has issued a disclaimer of opinion on HUD’s fiscal years 2016 and 2015 (restated) consolidated financial statements because of the agency’s failure to deliver both statements and their accompanying notes in a timely manner. In addition, there were several unresolved audit matters from past audits that prevented the IG from completing an examination of HUD’s and Ginnie Mae’s accounts and rendering an opinion. These unresolved matters related to a number of things, including the Office of General Counsel’s refusal to sign a management representation letter, HUD’s improper use of budgetary accounting methods, and the $4.2 billion in ...
US Court Issues Injunction on DOL’s Overtime Pay Rule. A federal judge in Texas granted states’ motion to block the Department of Labor’s controversial overtime pay rule set to take effect on Dec. 1, 2016. In late breaking news, the Department of Justice said it will appeal the injunction. The decision handed down by Judge Amos Mazzant of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas would deprive approximately 4.2 million workers who stand to benefit from the rule. Twenty-one states, a coalition of business organizations and the Plano Chamber of Commerce challenged the rule in separate amici briefs, arguing they stand to lose money if the final rule takes effect. The final rule would require employers to pay a higher salary level for certain employees to be exempt from overtime. In addition, it would automatically update the minimum salary level every three years. In his decision, Mazzant determined that ...
Commercial banks and savings institutions racked up $5.18 billion in mortgage-banking income during the third quarter of 2016, a huge 44.6 percent increase over the three-month period ending in June, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of call report data.
In a development of keen interest to mortgage loan officers, a federal judge in Texas this week granted states’ motion to block the Department of Labor’s controversial overtime pay final rule set to take effect on Dec. 1, 2016.
Mortgage applications rose 5.5 percent for the week ending Nov. 18, 2016, versus the prior week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The Refinance Index declined 3 percent from the previous week to its lowest level since January 2016. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 19 percent from one week earlier. …
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