Major industry trade groups are asking FHA and VA to suspend proposed guidelines for energy-improvement loans and give stakeholders an opportunity to comment. In a joint letter, 11 trade groups warned that the proposed agency guidelines regarding Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans raises serious concerns that must be resolved before implementation of any PACE guidance. Prior to the issuance of the new guidelines, both FHA and VA prohibited the financing or refinancing if there was a lien other than the FHA-insured or VA-guaranteed mortgages. PACE programs are available in 19 states but most are in California. They provide financing for home improvements and clean-energy upgrades that would result in more efficient use of water and electricity, and ultimately savings for homeowners. The PACE obligation is repaid through a property-tax assessment, which takes a ...

The FHA has announced new streamlined procedures to help delinquent homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The agency is revising loss-mitigation procedures servicers use when evaluating and choosing the best home-retention options for delinquent borrowers by reducing waiting time for results. The new streamlined procedures are designed to enhance servicers’ ability to evaluate foreclosure-avoidance alternatives, especially for the FHA-Home Affordable Modification Program (FHA-HAMP). Specifically, FHA will require servicers to convert successful three-month trial modifications into permanent modifications within 60 days instead of the average four to six months. Borrowers who have three missed mortgage payments would be able to opt for a partial claim to bring their arrearages current versus the previous four-month minimum. In addition, the FHA will eliminate the ...

Despite the FHA loss of market share to the private mortgage insurance business in the second quarter of 2016, stakeholders continue to believe that an FHA premium reduction is not likely to occur any time soon. Analysts with Keefe Bruyette & Woods said that, while investor concern about an FHA price cut remains elevated, the likelihood of a cut “is not very high” and the impact would be limited since the FHA is likely to cut rates only by about 30 basis points before hitting the ...

FHA single-family endorsement activity saw a solid 15.0 percent increase from the first to the second quarter of 2016, but the program lost market share in the red-hot primary mortgage insurance business. The FHA endorsed a total of $61.54 billion of forward mortgages during the second quarter, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis and ranking. That brought year-to-date production to $115.06 billion, a 9.0 percent increase over ... [Includes two data charts]

Mortgage lenders originated $48.26 billion of single-family mortgages with VA home loan guaranties during the second quarter of 2016, according to agency data provided this week to Inside FHA/VA Lending. Second-quarter volume was up 30.0 percent from the first three months of the year, with the biggest increase coming in streamlined refinancing. The VA said originations of interest rate reduction loans totaled $16.50 billion in the second quarter, up 51.6 percent ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general has taken its dispute with HUD over downpayment assistance to Congress, accusing FHA of steering borrowers to DPA programs with an illegal funding scheme. In a recent letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, HUD Inspector General David Montoya said premium pricing uncovered during an audit of an Arizona-based FHA lender violates federal law regarding ...

An FHA servicer’s failure to communicate in a timely manner with delinquent borrowers for potential loss mitigation options exposed troubled homeowners to the risk of losing their home, according to results of an audit by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general. The delay also may have resulted in a violation of federal and state bankruptcy laws, the inspector general’s report noted. The audit looked into Selene Finance’s servicing of FHA loans and ...

Revised forms lenders must file when submitting a mortgage loan for FHA insurance became mandatory on Aug. 1, raising hope for more lender participation in the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program without fear of liability. The improved form, HUD/VA Addendum to the Universal Residential Loan Application (Form 92900-A), eliminates the requirement that lenders certify to their compliance with all FHA requirements. The FHA first proposed changes to ...

Regions Financial Corp., a $125 billion Alabama bank, has reached a preliminary settlement with the Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to resolve an investigation into the bank’s FHA lending practices. The reason for the investigation was not disclosed in the bank’s 10-Q filing, although Regions acknowledged that DOJ and the HUD inspector general are focusing on its FHA loan origination procedures, underwriting and ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued new guidance to clarify the loan-fee structure for VA purchase and refinance mortgages, loan assumptions and manufactured home loans. The detailed funding fees are in effect for VA loans closed on or after Nov. 22, 2011, and before Sept. 30, 2024. For first-time use of the VA housing benefit, a VA loan with a downpayment of less than 5 percent would have a funding fee of 2.15 percent for veterans and 2.40 percent for reservists ...