Articles Published in: October 2017

October 4, 2017

HUD Announces Settlement In Fair Housing Complaints Against The State Of Maryland

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Fair Housing case involving complaints against the State of Maryland. According to HUDNo.17-088, the agency has “…announced an agreement to resolve a discrimination complaint brought by fair housing advocates against Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) challenging the fairness of the State’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.” Under the terms of the agreement, new or modified policies, incentives, and “more flexible program rules” will be enacted to “streamline the creation of affordable housing in higher opportunity neighborhoods in the Baltimore region”. The origin of the case involved a complaint filed with HUD in 2011. The Baltimore Regional Housing Campaign (BRHC) reported to HUD that the state of Maryland, “maintained a policy requiring local jurisdictions to | more...

October 3, 2017

What Are The FHA Appraisal Rules For Appraisal Transfer?

By Joe Wallace

What are the rules for FHA appraisal transfer? There are times when a borrower wants to switch lenders, and there may be other circumstances that may lead to the question of transferring an existing FHA appraisal. FHA Appraisals And Borrowers Who Switch Lenders FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 directly address the question of what happens to the FHA appraisal if the borrower changes her mind and decides to use a different lender. “In cases where a Borrower has switched Mortgagees, the first Mortgagee must, at the Borrower’s request, transfer the appraisal to the second Mortgagee within five business days.” Notice that the FHA loan rules here say “at the borrower’s request”. The transfer of the appraisal is not automatic, and the FHA appraiser is not required “to provide the | more...

October 3, 2017

How Long Are FHA Appraisals Valid?

By Bruce Reichstein

How long are FHA appraisals valid? That can be an important question, especially in situations where there might be a delay in the processing or closing of a home loan for some reason. FHA loan rules governing the appraisal process are found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA loan handbook. In that handbook, there is a general rule for the age of documents used to process the mortgage. According to that section on page 107, we learn: “Documents used in the origination and underwriting of a Mortgage may not be more than 120 Days old at the Disbursement Date. Documents whose validity for underwriting purposes is not affected by the passage of time, such as divorce decrees or tax returns, may be more than 120 Days old at the Disbursement Date.” | more...

October 2, 2017

What Are The FHA Loan Credit Score Rules?

By Joe Wallace

What are the FHA loan credit score rules? Do you know the difference between FHA loan standards and lender standards? First time home buyers should know what the rules are long before starting the search for a new home. FHA Loan Credit Score Standards FHA home loans require a FICO score minimum of 580 or better to qualify for the lowest down payment of 3.5%. FICO scores are not the only criteria for approving or denying the home loan, so if you know your FICO score but aren’t sure about the rest of the financial qualifications for FHA loan approval, you’ll definitely want to keep reading. Lender Credit Score Standards Lender FICO score standards can be (and often are) higher than FHA loan minimum requirements. That means that even though | more...

Conventional Loan Interest Rates Make History, FHA Loan Rates Still Incredibly Low

October 2, 2017

Credit Score Issues and FHA Loans

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you know how credit score issues affect your FHA home loan application? For most borrowers, there’s no such thing as a new purchase loan with no credit check; The FHA loan handbook (HUD 4000.1) instructs the lender that credit score checks for FHA mortgage loan applications are mandatory except in certain instances such as for FHA Streamline Refinance loans, and other transactions as described on page 158: “The Mortgagee must review the credit report to determine the Borrower’s Minimum Decision Credit Score (MDCS), except for Mortgages to be insured under Section 247, Section 248, Streamline Refinances, and Assumptions. The MDCS will be used to determine the maximum insured financing available to a Borrower with traditional credit.” HUD 4000.1 adds that FHA loan applicants who have non-traditional or insufficient credit | more...