Cart

Inside FHA/VA Lending

October 10, 2008

View Archived Issues

HUD Launches HOPE for Homeowners on Time But It May Take a While for Lenders to Gear Up

Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston officially launched the HOPE for Homeowners program this week, but it’s unclear how quickly the complex program will ramp up significant production volume. Designed to give distressed homeowners a way to refinance mortgages that exceed the current value of their property... Read More

New FHFA Rule Would Help Lenders Participate in H4H, But Small Dollar Amount Means Only Modest Market Benefit

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is freeing up Federal Home Loan Bank affordable housing subsidies to help lenders take advantage of the new HOPE for Homeowners program. One of the toughest pills to swallow in the H4H program is the requirement that first mortgage lenders agree to hefty writedowns of the loan before it is refinanced into a new FHA mortgage... Read More

More Flexible H4H Guidelines As HUD Stumps for Foreclosure Alternatives

Lenders this week called for some flexibility in the government’s $300 billion borrower-rescue scheme HOPE for Homeowners, particularly in the sharing of future equity gains on refinanced properties that could make voluntary writedowns more palatable.The suggestion came up at a national housing summit sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development during discussions of... Read More

HUD Issues Cautionary Notes on ‘Buy And Bail’ Scam, and Treble Damages

The FHA is urging lenders to be vigilant in fighting a new mortgage scam that appears to be taking root in the market: homeowners who buy a new house as their principal residence and then default on the mortgage on their previous home. In Mortgagee Letter 2008-25, the Department of Housing and Urban Development warns FHA lenders about the “buy and bail” scheme in which... Read More

Housing Act Revisions to FHA Took Effect This Week, More Changes Ahead

Lenders are grappling with a slew of FHA modernization changes mandated by the 2008 housing act that took effect this week – and steadying for even more changes over the next few months. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has already implemented changes in premium rates for FHA loans that took effect Oct. 1, and loan-to-value requirements that will kick in on... Read More

Agencies Move to Adjust High-Cost Loan Limits, Even as Advocates Push for New Changes

It was going to be hard enough to adjust to a sharp reduction in the maximum loan amounts eligible for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA programs in 2009, but declining house prices and faltering markets are driving many to call for new emergency changes in the next few months. Congress in February approved a temporary increase in agency mortgage limits of up to... Read More

FHA Lending Sets New Record, ‘Countrywide’ Still Top Producer in Fragmented Market

FHA lending activity soared to a record $78.5 billion in the third quarter of 2008, according to preliminary estimates by Inside Mortgage Finance. The boom in FHA lending, up 60 percent from the second quarter of this year, comes at a time when other parts of the mortgage market have stalled. New securitization volume at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results