Two FHA lenders in Texas have agreed to pay a total of $469,419 in civil money penalties to resolve government allegations they charged bogus fees to borrowers to inflate the purchase amount of newly built manufactured housing. Among 11 alleged violations of FHA rules, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Mortgagee Review Board accused American Home Free Mortgage of Prosper, TX, of artificially increasing mortgage costs by an average of $12,000 per loan through improper fees. The fees were paid allegedly to a company owned and operated by AHFM’s sales manager. In addition, HUD alleged there were multiple violations of quality and annual certification requirements. As part of the settlement agreement, without admitting to any fault or liability, AHFM agreed to pay a $169,419 fine and to the permanent withdrawal of its FHA approval. In June 2014, the MRB also heard a ...

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 ...

Sellers saw a modest increase in VA loans delivered to Ginnie Mae in the second quarter of 2015, most of which were streamline refinance loans, but FHA definitely took the cake, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency data. Approximately $39.1 billion in VA purchase and refi loans were placed in Ginnie Mae pools in the second quarter, up 11.8 percent from the prior quarter. Of that amount, $20.9 billion were VA refinances, up 2.1 percent from the first quarter. Some 52 percent of the VA refis were originated in-house while correspondents accounted for 30.7 percent. Brokers brought in 17.3 percent of the securitized VA refi loans. VA purchase loans underlie an estimated $18.2 billion in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities in the second quarter, 48.4 percent of them retail. That number was up 25.5 percent from the previous quarter. VA loan correspondents were busy as well, accounting for ... [ 2 charts ]

M&T Bank is in talks with the federal government to resolve an investigation of a pre-crisis sale of FHA-insured and conforming mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that resulted in losses for the government-sponsored enterprises. The New York-based bank disclosed the settlement discussion in a second-quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is cooperating with the investigation. The Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Inspector General are investigating whether M&T Bank complied with FHA’s underwriting guidelines as well as with guidelines for selling loans to Fannie and Freddie. It is unclear how much the FHA paid out in loss claims in this case but investigators said that, based upon their review of a sample of FHA loans for which a claim was paid, “some of the loans do not meet underwriting guidelines.” M&T Bank could be ...

A growing number of issuers are engaging in servicing transfers prematurely or making changes to their servicing platforms, causing problems for Ginnie Mae’s monthly pool-level and loan-level reporting. A Ginnie Mae issuer “transfers servicing” when it shifts in-house servicing to a subservicer, moves servicing from one subservicer to another, or relocates servicing in-house. Effective servicing as well as accurate and timely reporting are critical to Ginnie’s mortgage-backed securities program, the company said in recently issued guidance on servicing transfers. The new policy guidance would ensure that issuers have the capacity and oversight controls at all times to meet their obligations under the Ginnie Mae MBS program. Currently, issuers are required to obtain Ginnie’s approval before engaging in any servicing transfer with a subservicer or from one subservicer to another. Effective immediately, any issuer that wishes to ...

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, which operates the Mortgage Partnership Finance Direct Program for nine FHLBanks, began issuing Ginnie Mae securities last week. Its first issuance was a $5 million security backed by mortgages originated by community lenders through the MPF Government MBS product. With the MPF Government MBS product, the MPF program buys fixed-rate mortgage loans originated by FHLBank members that are insured or guaranteed by government agencies. Matt Feldman, president of the Chicago FHLBank, called it “an important milestone for the MPF Program,” adding that Ginnie Mae securities are among the most liquid financial instruments in the world. He said the new product will allow FHLBank members to offer competitive FHA, VA and government guaranteed Native American and rural housing mortgages.

FHA/VA lender Castle & Cooke Mortgage is embarking on a major expansion that could boost their standing in the government-backed market if things work out as planned. The Salt Lake City-based retail lender is in the midst of an aggressive expansion plan to be in 48 states by the end of 2016, according to Adam Thorpe, who was named president and chief operating officer in late 2014. C&C’s government-backed lending activities are mostly in the West with licenses to operate in 18 states. Recently the company, which entered the mortgage market in 2005, opened a new branch office in Anaheim, CA, bringing to 36 the number of C&C branch offices across the country. Orange County and the Southern California housing market are among the priciest in the nation, and the high demand and lower inventory in those areas can be good for government and ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Home Loan Guaranty program is planning to expand its quality-control process to help VA lenders improve the origination process. The goal is to make the VA program, which has seen a sharp spike in lending, work better for servicemembers and veterans, according to Michael Frueh, director of the VA home-loan guaranty program, during a recent panel discussion of government-backed mortgage insurance programs hosted by the Urban Institute. There are still obstacles to overcome, however, Frueh said. Delayed appraisals are a top complaint among VA lenders, who have to contend with the long wait to get VA appraisals back from appraisal management companies or appraisers. Lenders say that, in some of the hot real estate areas in the country, they have seen a number of contracts extended because appraisals were ...

Department of Housing and Urban Development program staff and the agency’s inspector general are reportedly at loggerheads over an IG recommendation to deny FHA insurance to loans that receive downpayment assistance from programs funded through premium-pricing mechanisms. Responding to critics, the HUD OIG is standing by its audit findings, which could force the HUD deputy secretary to intervene in order to resolve the issues raised by the audit report and restore lender confidence. The report’s recommendation has alarmed lenders that participate in downpayment assistance “gift” programs run by housing finance agencies (HFAs). This prompted Ed Golding, HUD’s principal deputy assistant secretary for housing and head of the FHA, to issue a clarification of the FHA’s position on the issue. Golding’s note reaffirmed FHA’s support for certain downpayment assistance programs (DAPs), “like those run by ...