VA wants servicers to immediately stop offering previously outlined loss-mitigation options from Chapter 5 of its servicers’ handbook.

Mortgage servicers will be able to offer the mortgage recovery advance option as a standalone feature or as part of a 30- or 40-year loan modification, the Rural Housing Service said.

FHA said it would consider stakeholder feedback in future policy updates. But industry trade groups are already calling for changes to the cyber incident reporting requirements announced and launched in May.

Ginnie Mae last week proposed a new pool type to allow repooling of home equity conversion mortgages that have reached their buyout limit. Comments on the HMBS 2.0 term sheet are due July 31.

Improvements to the FHA home equity conversion mortgage program will help seniors maintain housing stability and financial security in retirement, according to Urban Institute’s Amalie Zinn.

The Community Home Lenders of America worries changes in home sale commission practices could make it more difficult for veterans to purchase homes using their VA home loan benefits.

The new rules come a month after FHA released a final rule eliminating the requirement that mortgage lenders register all branch offices where they conduct FHA business.

Housing counseling providers are backing a proposal from HUD to permanently allow for services to be provided virtually rather than in-person.

The proposed program could be improved by simplifying communications with borrowers and making changes that expand the number of borrowers who can be helped, industry and consumer groups said.

Allowing lenders to provide downpayment assistance on FHA loans would extend homeownership to underserved borrowers who have a difficult time amassing even a 3.5% downpayment, the former Ginnie Mae president said.