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...

Ginnie Mae wants to make sure that issuers are not selling all their good loans and retaining the potential dregs…

In addition, HUD proposes to vary its owner-occupancy requirement…

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…

VA wants to make sure that borrowers are not making a hasty decision to refinance, said VA Acting Director Jeffrey London.

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.

Ginnie expects issuers to actively participate by issuing, servicing or subservicing agency MBS…

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 ...

VA lenders recorded a strong first half for 2016, thanks to a substantial boost in production in the second quarter, agency data show. VA guarantees on purchase and refinance mortgages totaled $83.5 billion for the first six months, as lenders made a strong second-quarter push that brought production up by 29.9 percent. Streamlined refinancing, also known as Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRLs), comprised a hefty portion of total VA originations – 21.7 percent. VA has been particularly strong in the refinance segment over the last six months, racking up $44.3 billion in total refi volume, far exceeding FHA’s $36.4 billion and private mortgage insurers’ $21.6 billion. (see IFHA/VA Lending, 8/9/16.) Overall, FHA remained the top mortgage insurer in the government-backed lending market with $123.0 billion, compared to VA’s $84.8 billion. Loans with primate MI totaled $102.7 billion ... [ 1 chart ]

Ginnie Mae continues to wrestle with issuers lacking liquidity and net worth although the number of such cases has gone down significantly, thanks to tight oversight, according to the agency’s top counterparty risk officer. Briefing participants at this year’s Ginnie Mae summit in Washington, DC, Zack Skochko, director of counterparty risk, reported that some issuers are still struggling to comply with Ginnie Mae’s liquidity and net worth requirements.A number of small issuers failed their liquidity and net worth audits this year by not maintaining the minimum $1 million cash or 10 basis points of outstanding Ginnie securities required to participate in the agency’s mortgage-backed securities program. Ginnie Mae also requires issuers to meet a minimum net worth of $2.5 million plus 35 bps of the issuer’s total effective single-family obligations The requirements were designed to ensure that the ...