Articles Published in: April 2016

April 5, 2016

Understanding FHA Appraisals

Whether you’re purchasing a suburban home, a town home, manufactured home or condo, all properties must be appraised before the loan can be approved. The appraisal process and its requirements may vary depending on whether the home is under construction, is considered new construction, or is termed “existing construction”, but in all cases the property must meet minimum FHA standards also know as MPRs and MPS. HUD 4000.1 explains the appraisal process: “The Appraiser must observe, analyze and report that the Property meets HUDs MPR and MPS. Minimum Property Requirements (MPR) refer to general requirements that all homes insured by FHA be safe, sound, and secure. Minimum Property Standards (MPS) refer to regulatory requirements relating to the safety, soundness and security of New Construction.” “Every Property must be safe, sound, | more...

What happens to my FHA loan in a natural disaster?

April 5, 2016

New Guidelines For FHA HECM Loans

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD have issued new, more permissive HECM guidelines for lenders, with an optional extension to submitting a Due and Payable request where borrowers are behind on the payment of their property taxes and/or hazard insurance premium” according to Mortgagee Letter HUDNo.16-07. That Mortgagee Letter states, “For HECM loans that were in foreclosure proceedings prior to the issuance of Mortgagee Letter 2015-11, mortgagees may assess those borrowers for a Repayment Plan in accordance with Mortgagee Letter 2015 – 11. For HECM loans that exceed 98% of the Maximum Claim Amount (MCA) or would exceed 98% of the MCA if they were provided a Repayment Plan, mortgagees may elect to assess and provide such borrowers a Repayment Plan in accordance with Mortgagee Letter 2015-11.” HECM borrowers are required to | more...

April 4, 2016

FHA and HUD Kick Off Fair Housing Month

By Joe Wallace

April is Fair Housing Month, a time when efforts are made to raise the awareness of fair housing issues and federal law that protects those seeking a place to live from discrimination. That’s why the FHA and HUD began Fair Housing Month 2016 with the launch of a national media campaign designed to help the public, “to envision what communities with shared opportunity for all might look like. The new campaign is designed to further educate the public about their housing rights and the ideals behind HUDs new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) initiative” according to a 1 April press release. “The campaign, which was developed in partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), will include print Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in various languages, television PSAs in English and | more...

April 4, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Decisively Lower After Jobs Report

By Joe Wallace

Friday, much attention was on the Employment Situation Report, which has in the past influenced mortgage rates based on investor reaction to the information in that report. Ahead of that report, it seemed risky to float, or delay making an interest rate lock commitment with a lender in hopes of seeing rate move lower. Floating is never risk-free, and ahead of a scheduled economic data release such as this, an elevated risk is present. But on Friday those who chose to float in spite of the risk were rewarded as rates moved lower. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan interest rates were reported at a best-execution 3.625% on Friday, ditching the previous range between 3.625% and 3.75%. FHA mortgage loan rates have not moved out of their recent comfort zone | more...

April 1, 2016

FHA Loan Appraisal Questions: The Roof

By Joe Wallace

We get many questions about the FHA home loan appraisal process, including specific questions about certain conditions that may or may not affect the sale of a given home. Here’s one of the most recent: “Can I get an FHA Loan on a house if it has 2 layers of shingles, and the 2nd layer is less than 20 years old?” What borrowers should know in these cases is that there are FHA minimum standards, and then there are Federal, State, and local building codes which also may apply. FHA minimum standards are not intended to address every single possible condition of the home or the various components of a home, but there are some areas that are specifically addressed as common issues. Regardless, FHA loan appraisal requirements such as | more...