The FHA and the Internal Revenue Service are working on implementing electronic signatures in loan documents and certain federal tax forms in 2012. In a recent letter to members, David Stevens, president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the trade group has been working with both agencies for the past 18 months to allow the use of e-signatures on FHA loan documents and to automate the IRS Form 4506-T process as early as next year. Form 4506-T is a request for a transcript of a filer’s tax return.

A federal judge in Houston ruled that Allied Home Mortgage Corp. can continue to originate and underwrite FHA-insured loans, putting into question the validity of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s suspension of the lender’s FHA privileges. U.S. District Court Judge Melinda Harmon, in a 22-page decision issued filed on Nov. 15, said the “potential destruction” of Allied’s business outweighs any harm the government would suffer before the issues can be litigated.

Three new housing professionals have joined the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Single Family, Risk Management and Multifamily offices. Sarah Garecke was named senior policy advisor in the Single Family Office and will help organize the new Office of Housing Counseling. She was previously with the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University’s School of Law, where she launched the Institute for Affordable Housing Policy. She also co-authored the Directory of Affordable Housing Programs.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to conduct a comprehensive study on the impact of pre-purchase homeownership counseling based on results for low- and moderate-income first-time FHA homebuyers.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage claims increased by a whopping 48.3 percent in FY 2011 from last year, while the number of loans originated under the program also fell on a year-over-year basis, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA data. HECM claims were up to 7,951 in 2011 compared to 5,361 claims filed under the program the year before.

The Obama administration this week proposed a new rule that would establish uniform procedures for the resolution of disparate impact allegations under the Fair Housing Act at a time when the whole legal underpinnings of disparate impact are slated for review by the U. S. Supreme Court. In a proposed rule that has been in preparation for months, the Department of Housing and Urban Development argued that it has the authority to apply the disparate impact theory of discrimination in the context of fair housing, including fair lending charges. The purpose of the proposed rule, HUD says, is to clear up uncertainty about...

Finding itself in one of the largest mortgage fraud cases ever prosecuted by the federal government, the Department of Housing and Urban Development may have a hard time explaining why it failed to act earlier against a lender that scammed the FHA for nearly a decade. It appears HUD, notwithstanding its assertions of increased vigilance and aggressive enforcement against violators of department regulations, dropped the ball on Allied Home Mortgage Corp. According to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan district court this week, Allied, an FHA loan correspondent, and its two top executives engaged in ...

FHA originations dropped while the rest of the mortgage market, powered by a new wave of refinancing, posted gains during the third quarter, according to an Inside FHA Lending analysis of agency originations data. FHA lenders reported an estimated $145.7 billion in direct endorsements in the third quarter, down 3.7 percent from the previous quarter. This was in stark contrast to VA loan production, which was up an impressive 31.0 percent to $20.7 billion, and new single-family securitization by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which rose 14.4 percent to $177.2 billion over the same period. Even the private mortgage insurance sector, FHA’s direct competitor, outdid ... [Includes one data chart]

FHA claims rose in 2011 from last year with loss mitigation and property conveyances accounting for the bulk of paid claims, according to Inside FHA Lending’s analysis of FHA fiscal year data. Though increasing by 7.7 percent, claims are still far below the 15.0 percent average for FHA loans, said an agency spokesperson. On Sept. 30, servicers reported 635,096 mortgages in serious default, yielding a default rate of 8.7 percent. This fiscal year, FHA reported 326,892 claims, of which 200,808 were loss mitigation-related and 91,448 were property conveyance actions. Claims related to pre-foreclosure sales and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans showed the most ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking executive clearance for a final rule which would revise and update requirements for lender indemnification, lender-insurance eligibility and termination under the FHA’s Single-Family Lender Insurance Process. The final rule was sent to the Office of Management and Budget for review on Oct. 18 with possible issuance in the next couple of weeks. HUD declined to discuss the details of the final rule. The three main changes to the program include a more explicit definition of what ...