The FHA will not issue a new case number for any FHA-to-FHA refinance if the current mortgage has a repair or rehabilitation escrow account in FHA Connection. The change, which is one of several updates to FHA Single Family Policy Handbook 4000.1, applies only to FHA streamline refis. It aims to ensure that escrow funds of the mortgage being refinanced are properly applied as well as conform to system requirements. The updated sections become effective on Sept. 14, 2015. Another change clarifies that the payoff statement for the mortgage being refinanced is the only document required when calculating the maximum mortgage amount for simple refi transactions. In addition, guidance for loan-to-value limits for cash-out refis has been updated to clarify that the 85 percent LTV restriction applies only to cash-out refis. HUD also noted that appraisers have flexibility in regards to when inspections should ...
FHA Begins Registration of Lenders to Prepare their Transition to the EAD Portal. Lender registration for the transition phase of the new Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal began on Aug. 18. Lenders may select any of the seven onboarding phases, which FHA has established to ensure that lenders have more time to work within the EAD portal to ensure that their systems, data flow and operational process meet portal requirements before the June 27, 2016, mandatory-use date. Although lenders may enter at any phase they choose, the FHA strongly encourages lenders to register for the earliest onboarding phase, and to do it as soon as possible. That would give them more time to get ready for the full transition, the agency said. The first phase begins on Oct. 15, 2015, with additional phases beginning each month and running through the first half of 2016. Information on the onboarding phases as well as ...
A recent shift in the purchase-mortgage market share toward the government-sponsored enterprises appears to be part of seasonal home buying patterns rather than direct competition for mortgages with low downpayments.
While regulators sometimes give lenders the green light to implement new rules before the legal effective date, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made no such recommendation for controversial new mortgage disclosures that take effect Oct. 3. An argument could be made for early adoption of the so-called TRID disclosures if they are truly beneficial to consumers and lenders have enough time to test the new forms, said stakeholders. The original effective date was Aug. 1, but that was moved back because of an administrative error by the CFPB. Some lenders have said they were ready for TRID, which consolidates four current forms under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act into two integrated disclosures, at the beginning of this year. The CFPB is...
The metric will assess lender performance based on the lender’s default rate within three credit-score bands and compare it to an FHA target rate, rather than to the lender’s peers.