A previously obscure FHA program for properties in designated disaster areas is getting more interest from lenders in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. According to FHA data, there has been a noticeable increase in loans originated under the FHA 203(h) mortgage insurance program, which is designed specifically for hard-hit homeowners in presidentially declared major disaster areas (PDMDA). Origination under the 203(h) program rose from $17.8 million in 2015 to $64.1 million in 2017, data showed. Use of the 203(h) product spiked in the fourth quarter of 2016, when 180 loans totaling $34.0 million were originated, up from 47 in the previous quarter and 26 loans from the same period in 2015. The U.S. experienced more floods in 2016, 19 in all, than any year on record, according to an analysis by Munich Re, a global reinsurance firm. In post-hurricane guidance, FHA urged lenders to ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general recommended administrative actions and monetary penalties against two lenders for allegedly improper origination of FHA loans with restrictive covenants. The HUD IG targeted SecurityNational Mortgage Co. and Venta Financial Group for audit because they were among the top lenders that originated FHA-insured loans with downpayment assistance from the City of Las Vegas. The audits yielded findings similar to those for Evergreen Home Loan, which the IG reviewed last year. The IG audit found that Evergreen Home Loan originated FHA loans with homebuyer downpayment assistance provided under a Las Vegas housing program that contained prohibited legal restrictions on conveyance. During the Evergreen audit, the IG concluded that the agreements used to secure those loans exposed the ...
A Ginnie Mae crackdown on abusive VA refinancing could be positive for housing finance reform, according to a Washington research organization. In a recent analysis, the Cowen Washington Research Group said Ginnie’s effort to rein in lenders that are engaging in churning might benefit those who are trying to revamp Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “We expect Ginnie Mae will succeed in curbing prepayment speed on VA mortgages,” wrote Jaret Seiberg, a financial services and housing policy analyst with the Cowen Group. “The crackdown is positive for government-sponsored enterprise reform as it should restore the spread between Ginnie and Fannie/Freddie MBS.” According to Seiberg, GSE reform advocates could potentially use the spread to pay for a housing finance bill that includes a government guarantee on the resulting MBS. Acting Ginnie Mae President Michael Bright has pledged to ...
The Congressional Budget Office has put forth a white paper with several options to minimize taxpayer risk in the FHA program. Although FHA delinquencies are at historical lows, the CBO would like less government exposure to FHA risk, fearing that the growing popularity of private sector programs will leave the government stuck with bad loans. CBO estimates that “the share of FHA-insured mortgages going to such borrowers is likely to keep shrinking as credit standards in the private market continue to ease. That change would leave FHA with a riskier pool of borrowers, creating risk-management challenges similar to the ones that contributed to the agency’s high levels of insurance claims and losses during the recession.” According to Inside Mortgage Finance’s database, FHA lending accounted for approximately $70.6 billion, or 15.4 percent, of all first-lien lending in the second quarter. CBO’s white ...
The Mortgage Bankers Association has asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development to tweak its current re-inspection policy, which may be interfering with certain home-sale transactions. In a recent letter, the MBA asked HUD to realign its re-inspection policy with those of the government-sponsored enterprises and the VA to prevent it from hindering sales that were in progress prior to hurricanes Harvey and Irma but had not closed when the storms hit. The MBA said the current policy requires that the inspection be completed after the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s “incident period.” HUD interprets this to mean the end date of the incident period. Because such periods can run anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months and could be reopened or extended, many borrowers face needless delay from completing a home sale, even where there is no ...
Industry Trade Groups Call for Compton Vote. A coalition of 28 trade groups representing the mortgage and real-estate industries has urged the Senate leadership to bring Paul Compton’s nomination as general counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the floor for a vote. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved Compton’s nomination in July but no further action has been taken since. In a joint letter, the coalition underscored the importance of the role of HUD general counsel in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The groups urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to provide all the necessary resources to help in the disaster recovery and to put the HUD general counsel in place, which is critical to the recovery efforts. On Sept. 14, the Senate confirmed ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has asked its internal watchdog to make some “minor adjustments” to its recommendations following recent audit findings of inadequate HUD monitoring of servicers’ loss mitigation activities. Commenting on the HUD Inspector General’s report, HUD asked for some minor tweaks so that it can best implement the IG’s recommended changes, which include revisions in the department’s monitoring policies and procedures, development of new policies and procedures for sharing new information, and indemnification and administrative actions. The IG undertook...
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