The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the reverse mortgage lending industry lauded the U.S. House of Representatives this week for passing bipartisan legislation that would allow the agency to make immediate, necessary changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program while working simultaneously on implementing regulations. H.R. 2167, the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2012, passed by voice vote after it was added to the House “suspension” calendar, which limits debate on noncontroversial bills for quick passage. Co-sponsored by Reps. Denny Heck, D-WA, and Mike Fitzpatrick, R-PA, the bill responds ...

The likelihood of new loans exceeding the statutory “high-priced mortgage loan” (HPML) threshold due to a recent policy change relating to FHA mortgage insurance premium payments is causing uneasiness among some lenders, said an industry trade group. This week, the Consumer Mortgage Coalition warned that lenders might not originate FHA-insured loans if they thought the new MIP policy would cause the mortgages to turn into HPMLs and subject them to increased liability. Specifically, the new MIP policy might prevent ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued guidance on several FHA issues, including partial-claim documentation and delivery requirements, clarification regarding title approval at conveyance, interest rates for loss mitigation home-retention options, and subordination of partial-claim liens associated with FHA streamlined refinances. Partial Claim Documentation and Delivery Requirements (ML 2013-19. The guidance addresses the problem of many missing FHA partial-claim documents due to lenders’ failure to comply with HUD procedures for ...

HUD Takes Second Furlough. The Department of Housing and Urban Development this week announced the second of seven furlough days employees are scheduled to take due to mandatory, government-wide budget cuts: June 14. Sequestration went into effect March 1 because Congress failed to pass legislation on balanced deficit reduction. HUD employees took their first forced leave on May 24. Approximately $85 billion will be slashed from the federal budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. The next furlough date is July 5. HUD, however, may not need to ...

HUD and FHA offices will be closed on Friday. Foreclosure activity was up and down in May. And the "nerdy" reference behind Fenway Summer.

Mortgage lenders are increasingly anxious that they may be blindsided by fair lending claims based on the disparate impact theory as they try to keep their business within the safe harbor for qualified mortgages under the new ability-to-repay rule. “My concern is about who’s going to do a QM and who’s going to do [non-QM] ability-to-repay, and how can we somehow get a disparate impact out of this?” said Charles Lewis, vice president of compliance services at the Missouri Bankers Association. Speaking at the American Bankers Association’s regulatory compliance conference in Chicago early this week, Lewis urged...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced the first-ever settlement regarding the treatment of real estate-owned properties in minority neighborhoods. Under an agreement with HUD, the National Fair Housing Alliance and several other fair housing organizations, Wells Fargo will invest a total of $39 million in 45 communities to support neighborhood stabilization and property rehabilitation in minority neighborhoods. The settlement stemmed...

FHA officials had sought the legislation so they can act quickly to address problems involving the troubled HECM program.

The Inspector General of HUD plans to expand audits of FHA servicers later this year.

Roughly $148 billion of single-family agency MBS were issued last month, down almost 3 percent from April’s level. May was the slowest month for agency MBS issuance so far in 2013.