The FHA has issued long-anticipated rules for approving condominium developments, including the reinstatement of spot approvals and mandatory recertification of condo approvals every three years rather than the current two-year requirement. The rules are designed to make it easier for condo projects to qualify for FHA financing and for borrowers to purchase affordable single-family units with a low 3.5 percent downpayment. The comment period ends on Nov. 28, 2016. The Department of Housing and Urban Development eliminated...
Among the top 20 VA lenders, just six depositories made the cut: USAA, Navy Federal, Wells Fargo, Flagstar Bank, The Federal Savings Bank and North American Savings Bank…
According to Treasury Department reports, overseas investors held $821.3 billion of Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie MBS at the end of June, a 5.0 percent increase from March.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is working on a change to its existing streamline refinancing policy to address a problem that is giving VA and Ginnie Mae the fits. Under the VA’s qualified-mortgage rule, a VA borrower must wait six months and show six months’ worth of mortgage payments before they can refinance into an IRRRL (Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan) and take advantage of the lower rate. However, it seems not all VA lenders are adhering to the rule and that a good number are refinancing veterans into IRRRLs even before the mandatory seasoning period ends for fear interest rates might rise and the borrower might not benefit from the lower rate. “I’ve redone the numbers in 20 different directions on how much a borrower would save if they had to wait two more months and the rate went up a quarter of a point because they lost those two months ...