A federal court in Texas has dismissed a disparate-impact lawsuit against the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, finding, after years of litigation, that the plaintiff had failed to show sufficient reason for a charge of unlawful discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The recent decision in The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. v. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, et al., is the latest in a series of decisions applying the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that found disparate impact is a cognizable claim under the FHAct. The court’s Aug. 26 decision basically reaffirms...
HUD has been criticized by consumer advocates who feel the agency's NPL auctions have unfairly benefitted private equity firms and hedge funds at the expense of troubled borrowers.
It was the highest three-month total for government-insured lending on record, although private mortgage insurance did more business in the second quarter than either FHA or VA…
The FHA and the Inspector General of HUD currently are at odds over permissible sources of single-family downpayment assistance offered through housing finance agencies.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency revealed details this week on a new high loan-to-value streamlined refinance option for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages that will replace the Home Affordable Refinance Program. HARP was due to sunset at the end of this year, but the FHFA extended it until Sept. 30, 2017, with the new alternative beginning immediately after. The as-yet-unnamed option is...
FHA saw a modest rise in originations midway through 2016 compared to the same period last year, but VA did a lot better with a double-digit increase in loan production, according to an analysis of Ginnie Mae data. Lenders delivered $123.0 billion of FHA-insured loans to Ginnie pools during the first half of 2016, up 8.4 percent from the previous year. FHA’s midyear production was driven by a surge in purchase-mortgage lending in the second quarter, which also pushed volume higher for VA as well as conventional-conforming mortgages. Government-backed lending rose 32.3 percent from the first quarter to approximately $131.0 billion in second-quarter originations, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliate publication of Inside FHA/VA Lending. It was the highest three-month total for government-insured lending on record, although private mortgage insurance did more business in the ... [2 charts]