Several mortgagee letters issued this week may have lifted the Department of Housing and Urban Development out of the doldrums, though that can quickly change if key staff positions remain vacant for a longer period, according to industry observers. Observers say problems might arise, as two key staff positions that are crucial to the implementation and enforcement of any HUD rule remain vacant. The Trump administration’s proposed deep cuts to HUD’s FY 2018 spending bill and Republican opposition to HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule reportedly have put a crimp on the nominations for the department’s top staff positions, observers said. Confirmations of Pamela Pantenaude as HUD deputy secretary and J. Paul Compton as HUD general counsel appear stalled on the Senate floor. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved ...
The FHA and VA reached a milestone of sorts in the second quarter of 2017 when both agencies hit their lowest delinquency levels in as many years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s quarterly survey of mortgage delinquencies nationwide. The FHA delinquency rate fell to 7.94 percent from 8.09 percent in the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, reaching its lowest level since 1996. Also on a seasonally adjusted basis, the VA delinquency rate declined to 3.72 percent from 3.90 percent in the previous quarter, the lowest it has been since 1979. Mortgage delinquencies also decreased for conventional loans on a seasonally adjusted basis. It dropped to 3.47 percent from 4.04 percent in the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. Overall, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on single-family residential homes fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.24 percent of all ...
The FHA this week extended temporary rules for approving condominium projects for FHA financing indefinitely. The extension will remain in place until the condominium rulemaking process is completed, the agency said in a mortgagee letter. Temporary approval requirements were first issued in 2012 and later modified in 2015. The current temporary provisions expired on Aug. 31, 2017. Under a proposed rule issued for comment on Sept. 27, 2016, elderly condominium owners would find it easier to obtain a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. FHA proposes to reinstate “spot condo” approvals whereby individual units are approved by FHA rather than the entire condominium project as required under current rules. Spot-condo approvals would require property recertification every three years rather than the current two-year requirements. Processing recertifications would be streamlined under the ...
As Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters recede, federal agencies that provide guarantees on mortgages are faced with the daunting task of identifying and assisting borrowers with government-backed mortgages in disaster-stricken areas of Texas. FHA, VA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service and Ginnie Mae have issued special relief guidance for approved lenders following Hurricane Harvey. The FHA has issued guidance to remind lenders and servicers that FHA-insured mortgages secured by properties in a presidentially-declared major disaster area are subject to a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures following a natural disaster. FHA also provides lenders an automatic 90-day extension upon expiration of the moratorium to begin or re-start foreclosure action or evaluate the borrower’s need for loss mitigation. In addition, FHA urged servicers to brush up on the 203(h) and the ...
The FHA has posted a quick-reference sheet on its website to help lenders navigate the agency’s new Loan Review System. The quick-reference sheet summarizes the most important information in the LRS user manual. The LRS is an electronic platform for single-family, quality-control processes that includes post-endorsement loan reviews, direct endorsement authority test cases, lender-monitoring reviews, and lender-self-reporting of fraud and other material findings. Defect taxonomy, a key LRS component, provides a streamlined method of identifying and capturing information about loan defects uncovered through individual loan reviews. Lenders have four opportunities to respond to FHA reviews. They may access the LRS to view the results of the review in detail but they may not edit or submit responses, upload documents, manage binder requests or create self-reports. When FHA requests a ...
Ginnie Mae Spokesperson Leaves Agency. Cynthia Adcock, director of communications and congressional relations at Ginnie Mae, will no longer be with the agency effective Sept. 4, 2017. Adcock will assume similar duties and responsibilities as a director with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Michael Huff will handle media inquiries related to Ginnie Mae and congressional matters. FHA Lenders Settle Alleged Violations of FCA, FHA Requirements. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General recently announced receipt of $44.3 million from separate settlements with two FHA lenders. The settlements resolve allegations of fraudulent claims and violation of FHA requirements against Financial Freedom of Austin, TX, and Prospect Mortgage of Sherman, Oaks, CA. On May 16, 2017, Financial Freedom, an FHA servicer, agreed to pay the ...
NRMLA said the changes "diminish the benefit (amount of loan proceeds) available and increase the costs (increased upfront mortgage insurance premium) to most borrowers.”
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