The Mortgage Bankers Association expressed support for a proposed collection of a system user fee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s single-family housing guaranteed loan program while underscoring the need for transparency and accountability regarding the use of the funds. “The [USDA] should be clear that it is limited in the scope of acceptable uses for the funds and that these funds will not be used for unspecified or unrelated activities,” the trade group said in its comment letter. The call for closer oversight of the proposed user-fees was among several recommendations the MBA made regarding the USDA proposal. Published in the July 13 Federal Register, the proposal would authorize the USDA to assess and collect a $25 fee from lenders for information technology upgrades. The fee will be collected through the USDA’s Lender Loan Closing (LLC) system when a loan goes to ...

Loss rates for notes sold in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s distressed asset sales program are lower than those for notes that pass through the traditional conveyance claim process, according to HUD’s inspector general. An IG audit found that the DASP loss rate was more than 3 percentage points lower than the loss rate of similar conveyance notes. The IG took into account the losses for actual DASP sales and real estate-owned conveyance claims during the same audit period, the IG said. Ultimately, the DASP program saved the FHA insurance fund more money than the conveyance process, the report concluded. The FHA Office of Housing conducts mortgage loan sales under the Single Family Loan Sale Initiative, and most distressed notes are sold through DASP. The initiative aims to maximize recoveries to the ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service is considering extending two manufactured-housing pilot programs implemented in a number of states under the USDA Section 502 single-family housing guaranteed loan program. The planned expansion would provide a more balanced regional representation that would help RHS measure the pilots’ impact. Launched in August 2016, the first pilot involves financing of existing manufactured homes. The second pilot involves ownership requirements for new energy-efficient manufactured and modular houses in land-lease communities operating on a nonprofit basis. State requests to join one or both pilots are submitted to the USDA state director of rural development. The deputy administrator of single-family housing decides on the request. Decisions would be based on the date the request was received and whether the ...

HUD Nails Florida Company with Discrimination Charge. The Department of Housing and Urban Development charged a Florida company and its owners with housing discrimination for intentionally targeting Hispanic homeowners in a predatory mortgage modification scheme that increased, rather than decreased, their risk of foreclosure. HUD filed charges of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act against Advocate Law Groups of Florida and owners Jon B. Lindeman, Jr., and Ephigenia Lindeman. The defendants allegedly ran a deceptive advertising campaign for loan modification that aired on Spanish-language radio and television throughout Florida. Homeowners were offered $500 gift cards as an enticement to sign for a loan modification. Ginnie Mae MBS Outstanding Increases. Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities issuance totaled $38.9 billion in August, raising its ...

The mortgage industry welcomed legislation passed by the House Financial Services Committee last week to clarify the seasoning requirements of certain VA streamlined mortgage loans and resolve the problem of VA “orphan” loans.

The central bank could lose its kingpin status if commercial banks continue buying…

With nonbanks dominating Ginnie Mae’s single-family MBS program, liquidity is an important factor in the issuance and servicing of Ginnie MBS and has been the agency’s focus in recent years.

So far, the final rule has not been delivered for OMB review, a process that in the past has sometimes taken months to complete.

The release of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s long-anticipated final rule on condominium lending reform, which aims to boost FHA activity in the sector, may take longer than expected, according to industry participants.

Through the first eight months of the year, Ginnie issuance was down 11.0 percent...