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Inside FHA/VA Lending

April 2, 2010

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New ‘Short Refi’ Program Fixes H4H

A new initiative announced by the Obama administration last week includes refinances for underwater borrowers that involve principal writedowns, an attempt to improve on the failed HOPE for Homeowners program. But the program is voluntary, and industry sources aren’t sure how widely the “FHA short refi” program will be used. Along with broader changes to the Home Affordable Modification Program rolled... Read More

New Ginnie President Evaluating Agency Programs

New Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer is in the early process of scrutinizing the agency’s programs and resource needs, and he said the government guarantor of securities backed by FHA loans is on a stable foundation as it looks to continue to support increased FHA volume. In an interview with Inside FHA Lending last week, Tozer noted that Ginnie hummed along successfully through the... Read More

Treasury Details FHA-HAMP Incentives

Many servicers have been waiting since the FHA-Home Affordable Modification Program began last August for word on how and when incentive payments would be distributed for successful modifications. The Treasury Department last week finally unveiled the details of the incentive payment structure, and servicers and borrowers could see their first payments sometime in August. If a borrower’s monthly... Read More

Opportunities Available for New FHA Lenders

The FHA lending market still presents numerous advantages for new entrants into the sector, even though monthly volume is off the record-high peaks hit in 2009, one industry executive said last week.Total Mortgage Services, based in Connecticut, got its approval to make FHA loans in early January this year, which company president and CEO John Walsh said will open a major avenue for growth... Read More

FHA Bans Two More Lenders

The FHA permanently withdrew the lender approval status of two companies as Inside FHA Lending went to press. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Mortgagee Review Board cited Atlanta-based RSA Financial Inc. for misleading HUD that it was properly licensed by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance at the time the company submitted an application to FHA for lender... Read More

HECM Lenders Not Charging Servicing Fee

More FHA home equity conversion mortgage lenders are offering the product without charging a monthly servicing fee, which experts say many borrowers view as a hidden cost. Security One Lending, Genworth Financial, MetLife Bank, and PenFed, a Virginia-based credit union, have all announced the servicing fee-less HECM product recently, and officials said the change will not only lower the cost of a reverse... Read More

FHA Delinquency Falls, Reversing Upward Trend

FHA loan performance may have turned a corner in February, as the rate of past-due mortgages fell to 9.17 percent, from 9.40 percent the prior month, according to the latest Department of Housing and Urban Development data. The last time the delinquency rate dropped was in May 2009, and the mark hasn’t declined for two consecutive months since January last year. Another HUD database shows that... Read More

FHA Briefs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced the FHA servicing lenders’ Tier Ranking Scores for Round 38. They were calculated using established criteria for HUD’s tier ranking system based on loan activity during the period from Oct. 1, 2008 through Sept. 30, 2009. Servicers ranked in the top tier are eligible for additional incentives for certain loss mitigation activities... Read More

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