Actions by a number of private mortgage insurers to cut borrower-paid premium rates would enhance affordability and enable private MIs to increase their market share at FHA’s expense, according to an analysis from the Urban Institute. So far, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Genworth Mortgage Insurance and Radian Guaranty have announced reductions in their respective monthly and single-premium borrower-paid premium rates. The premium cuts will affect more than just affordability, said UI. On March 6, the company announced that it is reducing borrower-paid single-premium rates in most FICO buckets, effective for all MI applications received on or after March 19, 2018. The Philadelphia-based MI also reminded clients that previously announced single-premium restrictions on debt-to-income ratios exceeding 45 percent and a FICO score below 700, or DTI exceeding ...
Reverse mortgage lenders chalked up a win in Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal on the question of whether surviving spouses of borrowers who had taken out a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loan also qualified as “borrowers” and, therefore, cannot be evicted from the property after the death of the borrower. The appellate court’s ruling contradicted two previous court rulings in Smith v. Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. and Edwards v. Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. Both rulings held that surviving spouses of deceased HECM borrowers also qualified as “borrowers” under the terms of the mortgage and, therefore, entitled to protection from eviction. However, in One West Bank, FSB v. Palmero, the appellate court changed course and outlined the conditions under which a lender could prove that “borrower” meant only the person who actually had taken out the reverse ...
The number of FHA lenders subject to administrative actions by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in FY 2017 declined from the previous fiscal year, according to the latest report from the Mortgagee Review Board. Published in the April 25 Federal Register, the report showed the number of FHA lenders that were hammered with civil money penalties, lost FHA approval, and received suspensions, probations, and reprimands from Oct. 1, 2016, to Sept. 30, 2017, fell to 20 from 25 in FY 2016. But the biggest change was in the number of lenders cited and disciplined for violation of FHA’s annual recertification requirements. Lenders that failed to meet the recertification requirements in a timely manner but eventually came into compliance totaled 52 in FY 2017, down from 106 in fiscal 2016. On the other hand, 23 lenders agreed to settle with HUD after they failed to ...
Guild Mortgage has announced an FHA-backed financing program that would allow homebuyers to finance solar panels through a mortgage when purchasing a house. It is not Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, which has similar goals but is prohibited by FHA because it asserts lien superiority over all other liens, including a residential mortgage. Guild developed the program, FHA Solar, with FHA to ensure adherence to all agency loan requirements, according to a company representative. “It sounds like Guild slapped their own brand on a loan product that appears to fit among FHA’s various energy-efficient programs, not to be confused with PACE obligations, which are no longer a part of our single-family insurance program,” said a Department of Housing and Urban Development spokesman. FHA Solar is available to residents in California. It provides homebuyers the ...
VA servicers may request to deviate from a VA regulation more than once if circumstances change during the life of the loan, according to guidance issued by the agency. Servicers should submit all deviations in a single pre-approval request if there is a need to diverge from multiple regulations, the VA said. “It is the servicer’s responsibility to adhere to all other regulatory requirements and ensure all actions are in the best interest of the veteran and the government,” the guidance stated. Meanwhile, servicers may now access a VA title-training module tailored for servicers. Vendor Resource Management, VA’s property management contractor, developed the module. Servicers must fill out and submit a training request form to be able to access the training, according to agency instructions. In addition, VA encourages servicers to submit as few forms as possible rather than submit one form per person. Upon completion of the ...
New Rural Housing Administrator. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has named Joel Baxley as Rural Housing Service administrator. Prior to joining RHS, he was the consulting services director and the senior real estate technical consultant with RSM US Financial Advisory Services consulting practice, where he worked on rural housing matters. Baxley has 23 years of experience in real estate finance. New CMLA Head Named. The Community Mortgage Lenders of America has named Ed Wallace to succeed retired Executive Director Glen Corso. The CMLA recently lobbied for legislation, now law, to protect FHA lenders whose compare ratios became elevated due to recent natural disasters. Private MI Provides 12-Month Rescission Relief on 100,000 Loans. National MI has granted a 12-month rescission relief on its first 100,000 loans as of the first quarter of 2018. NMI provided relief to borrowers ...
Excessive risk-based pricing, high private mortgage insurance premiums and lender credit overlays are locking out low-income borrowers and families of color from the conventional mortgage market, pushing them towards FHA as their only option, concludes a new study from the Center for Responsible Lending.
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