Archive for January, 2010
FHA Guidelines Tightened
FHA today announced some rather major guideline changes which will tighten up the availability of FHA loans. Your view regarding these changes is likely to be guided by your vantage point in the process.
Members of the general public who are not in the market for a home or a mortgage refinance will most likely approve. [...]
FHA Continues Lender Crackdown
For years I have been warning anyone who would listen that, sooner or later, FHA would start cracking down on all the lenders out there flouting the rules and risking the safety of the FHA program. It seems our present mortgage crisis, along with some increased funding, may have finally triggered this crackdown. I couldn’t [...]
FHA Removes 90 Day Waiting Period
HUD TAKES ACTION TO SPEED RESALE OF FORECLOSED PROPERTIES TO NEW OWNERSMeasure to help bring stability to home values and accelerate sale of vacant properties
WASHINGTON – In an effort to stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities where foreclosure activity is high, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced a temporary policy that will expand [...]
HUD Inspector General Probes Mortgage Companies With Significant Claim Rates
WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General Kenneth M. Donohue and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David H. Stevens announced today an initiative focusing on mortgage companies with significant claim rates against the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program.
HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) subpoenas were served to the corporate [...]
Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System Consumer Access Goes Live
With the passage of the SAFE Act nearly 2 years ago, the entire mortgage industry has taken steps toward licensing loan officers and managing that licensing process.
And now consumers can easily lookup the information in the NMLS system with the launch of NMLSConsumerAccess.org. The NMLS Consumer Access site gives consumers free access to data regarding [...]
FHA Changes in Down Payment and Credit Score Requirements
Beginning this spring, prospective FHA borrowers will face stricter standards and more upfront costs when the time comes to purchase a home.
The Federal Housing Administration this week announced a series of changes designed to strengthen its financial standing and weed out vulnerable borrowers.
The FHA has assumed an increasingly vital role in the last two years, [...]
FHA Cracks Down On Lenders
Recently, FHA has decided that they want to have more oversight and regulatory authority for FHA approved lenders. Yesterday, they released a statement declaring that HUD will be focusing more on regulatory authority when it comes to FHA lenders – in addition to some of the current HUD investigations that are currently being held.
According to [...]
FHA Raises Down Payment Requirements For Low Credit Scores
Yesterday, FHA announced that they were going to raise the minimum down payment requirements for FHA borrowers who have low credit scores.
According to the announcement, this change will take effect sometime in the summer after a comment period and is expected to impact FHA borrowers who have credit scores that are lower than 580. Currently, [...]
What Are Anti Deficiency Laws?
Anti Deficiency laws are laws that spell out what is to happen when a homeowner gets foreclosed on or has to sell their home for less than what they currently owe on their mortgage. Anti Deficiency laws vary from state to state and many times people aren’t even aware that it is possible that [...]
Proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee
Today President Obama announced a plan to impose a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee where many of the exact same Wall Street firms that helped the housing crisis ignite would pay back taxpayers for the TARP program.
The proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility fee would:
Require the Financial Sector to Pay Back For the Extraordinary Benefits Received:
Responsibility Fee Would [...]