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Inside FHA/VA Lending

February 26, 2016

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FHA Closes 2015 with Huge Gains, Private MIs Lead in Purchases

The FHA in 2015 posted significant shares overall among insured loans, except in purchase mortgages where private mortgage insurance enjoyed a slight edge over government-insured products, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency loan-level mortgage-backed securities. The FHA accounted for the bulk of insured loans in mortgage-backed securities issued last year, writing coverage on an estimated $236.3 billion in mortgage originations, or 38.8 percent of all insured mortgage loans in 2015. Approximately $608.8 billion in securitized mortgages received...[Includes one data table] Read More

FHA Securitization Volume Down in 4Q, Correspondents Report Gains

Delivery of FHA loans into Ginnie Mae pools declined 21.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, with correspondents accounting for the bulk of FHA loans securitized during the period, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae data. FHA loans securitized in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities totaled $57.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Approximately $40.6 billion were purchase loans, down 20.6 percent from the previous quarter. MBS backed by FHA refinance loans totaled $17.2 billion, down 23.9 percent from the prior quarter. Correspondents and retail lenders accounted...[Includes two data tables] Read More

No Forthcoming MIP Reduction, No Life-of-Loan Policy Change

There will be no further reductions of the FHA annual mortgage insurance premium or any change in the agency’s life-of-loan pricing, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s top officials.Testifying recently before a House Financial Services subcommittee, FHA Commissioner Edward Golding attributed a 27 percent increase in FHA purchase endorsements last year to a 50 basis point MIP reduction and continued low interest rates. Although he did not provide any updated guidance on MIP adjustments, Golding assured... Read More

House Approves Bill Eliminating VA Guaranty Cap in High-Cost Areas

The House of Representatives has passed legislation with provisions that would eliminate the cap on VA loan-guaranty limits and create a new office that would manage certain veteran benefits programs, including home-loan guarantees. The bill, H.R. 3016, The Veterans Employment, Education, and Health Care Improvement Act, passed by voice vote and was referred to the Senate for action. It contains... Read More

Misconceptions about VA Program Result in Loss of Potential Business

Some real estate agents and lenders are discouraging veterans and active military personnel from using a VA loan to purchase a home because of misconceptions about the VA Home Loan Guaranty program, a top official of the National Association of Realtors said. Testifying recently before the House Committee on Veteran Affairs, Sherrie Meadows, NAR vice president, acknowledged that some lenders and real estate agents steer their clients away from VA loans because the process could be prohibitive. “They think... Read More

Proposed Budget Projects $61 M Profit for USDA Mortgage Program

The Obama administration’s recently proposed federal budget is projecting a $61 million profit for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Section 502 single-family guaranteed housing program in FY 2017. The president’s budget proposal projects $900 million in new direct USDA rural housing mortgage loans in fiscal 2017, the same number of loans projected for fiscal 2016. For 2017, the USDA is seeking... Read More

Lenders Look Forward to Loss Mit Guidance on HECM PTI Default

FHA lenders are anticipating long-awaited guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development implementing sweeping changes related to reverse-mortgage borrowers in default for not paying their taxes and insurance. But don’t be surprised if HUD issues additional guidance before the implementation date, said James Wright, an attorney with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings’ Birmingham office. First announced in April 2015, the guidance sets... Read More

HUD Revises Foreclosure Windows, Announces Procedural Changes

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has revised reasonable diligence timeframes in 32 jurisdictions and provided guidance on judicial foreclosure of FHA loans in the District of Columbia. The updated timeframes are effective for all cases in which the deadline for taking the first legal action in a foreclosure occurs on or after Jan. 1, 2016. The revised schedule of attorney fees is... Read More

VA Agrees to Manage, Broker Sales Of RHS’s Real Estate-Owned Homes

The Department of Veterans Affairs has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to manage and market the latter’s inventory of real estate-owned single-family and multifamily properties. Mike Frueh, director of the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program, revealed the agreement during a recent hearing by the House Committee on Veterans Affairs on the state of program. Frueh told... Read More

Around the Industry

Carol Galante, former head of the FHA, has been named to Ocwen Financial’s board of directors. Galante left the FHA in August 2014 to take on the position of faculty director with the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. Current director Phyllis Caldwell was elevated... Read More

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