Certain aggregators of FHA loans are reportedly refusing to purchase FHA streamline refinance loans, fearing shoddy underwriting on the original loan might raise compliance issues down the road. How widespread is the problem is unclear but an industry consultant, who was tipped off by other aggregators, said the problem seems more of a servicing nature, rather than origination. Prior to 2010, FHA lenders originated many streamline refis with seller-funded downpayment assistance. Many of these loans ended up with high default rates, prompting FHA to eliminate seller-funded DPA and to tighten the FHA streamline refi program. Streamline refi originations fell and the program saw very little activity until the FHA revived the program with changes during the crisis to spur lending and help FHA borrowers refinance. Streamline refis do not require full underwriting. The basic requirements are that the mortgage to be refinanced must be FHA-insured, current on the ...

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, earlier this month expressed concern about the sale of nonperforming loans to private investors without sufficient protections for homeowners and neighborhoods. Both lawmakers fear that FHA may not be providing enough incentives to servicers to modify ailing mortgages and that certain investors may be more interested in foreclosure than a cure. The influx of private investors has crowded out first-time homebuyers and raised concerns about the long-term effects of investor-owned homes in communities where foreclosures run high. In a joint letter, the two lawmakers sought information from the Department of Housing and Urban Development about ...

House Approves Legislation Streamlining FHA Condo Rules, Allowing DE Lenders for USDA. Housing reform legislation that would ease FHA restrictions on condominium financing and allow delegation of loan approval authority to qualified lenders under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural housing programs passed the House last week by a vote of 427-0. Described as an FHA reform bill, H.R. 3700, the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act,” would modify FHA requirements for condo mortgages by streamlining FHA’s project certification requirements to qualify condominiums for FHA financing as well as making recertification less burdensome. H.R. 3700 would also expand the USDA’s Section 502 Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Program for single families by delegating loan-approval authority to certain participating lenders. FHA and VA loan programs already ...

Will TRID Errors Crimp Earnings? Market observers have been hearing reports that TRID errors and closing delays definitely will be affecting first quarter 2016 earnings, at least for certain nonbanks. The big test for nonbank mortgage stocks is expected to come later this month when PHH Corp., the parent of PHH Mortgage, the nation’s ninth largest servicer, reports 4Q15 results. PHH, which is battling the CFPB over RESPA issues, also has been smacked around by servicing write-downs. It likely got some relief on that score in 4Q15. Stay tuned... CFPB Tries to Clear the TRID Air on Construction Loans. Not only has the CFPB’s TRID rule delayed closings in the conventional market, but it’s being reported that the regulation has ...

Mortgage banking income generally declined for commercial banks and thrifts in the fourth quarter, although 2015 was generally more profitable than the previous year, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of earnings releases. A diverse group of 25 banks reported a total of $3.046 billion in mortgage-banking income for the fourth quarter. That was down 14.8 percent from the previous three-month period, and it marked the group’s lowest ... [Includes one data chart]

The financial crisis has led to a broader, more demanding quality control process to ensure that mistakes are never repeated and that financial institutions adhere strictly to compliance requirements. As a result, mortgage lenders are much more vulnerable now to enforcement actions if they are found to have inadequate controls in place or to be noncompliant. One of the pitfalls lenders worry about is being held responsible – and potentially liable – for the actions of third-party ...

The volume of non-agency mortgage-backed securities held by banks and thrifts has declined much more quickly than the amount of total non-agency MBS outstanding. Banks and thrifts held a total of $96.76 billion in non-agency MBS as of the end of the third quarter of 2015, down 28.4 percent compared with the end of the third quarter of 2014, according to a new analysis and ranking from the Inside Mortgage Finance Bank Mortgage Database. In that span ... [Includes one data chart]

The FHA and VA mortgage servicing markets saw relatively little growth but steady performance trends during the fourth quarter of 2015, after a turbulent market early in the year. A new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae disclosure data shows delinquency rates edged slightly lower at the end of last year, although virtually all of the improvement was in the less-severe category of loans 30-60 days past due. The 60-to-90-day delinquency rate was unchanged for FHA loans but up slightly for VA loans. And both programs saw modest increases in loans more than 90 days past due. The data provide a mixed view of growth in the outstanding supply of FHA and VA servicing. According to Ginnie’s monthly summary, the outstanding balance of single-family mortgage-backed securities (excluding home-equity conversion mortgage pools) was $1.495 trillion at the end of ... [ 4 charts ]

The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued guidance to help VA lenders understand better the agency’s interim final rule on a borrower’s ability to repay and qualified mortgages. The guidance was published in a frequently asked questions (FAQs) format to clarify and explain both the VA’s ATR and QM standards. The VA interim final rule became effective on May 9, 2014, the date it was published in the Federal Register. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 requires residential mortgage lenders to make a reasonable and good faith determination that the consumer has a reasonable ability to repay the loan according to its terms. The statute directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to develop and implement an ATR/QM rule. Under the CFPB’s final rule, a qualified mortgage is a category of loans that have certain, more stable features that ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service have issued 2016 guidelines for lending to borrowers who have gone through a bankruptcy, foreclosure or a short sale. Under VA guidelines, borrowers emerging from a previous Chapter 7 bankruptcy may apply for a VA loan two years after the bankruptcy discharge. Borrowers with a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may qualify for a new VA loan if they have made at least 12 months of payments and the lender concludes that they have reestablished satisfactory credit. Before the bankruptcy-tainted borrower applies for a VA loan, however, the trustee or the bankruptcy judge must approve the new loan. The lender may put in a good word on behalf of the borrower provided the latter has met all requirements for a new loan. Borrowers may apply for a VA loan two years after a foreclosure or a short sale. In the case of ...