Articles Tagged With: FHA and HUD

June 7, 2021

FHA/HUD Near Current Deadlines For Ending COVID “Flexibilities”

On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national emergency in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not long after, the FHA and HUD published details of altered FHA loan procedures designed to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. These altered procedures included modified employment verification, appraisal processes, and appraisal protocols such as exterior-only options. The HUD guidelines for these modified policies were intended to address the specific needs and risks associated with in-person requirements during COVID. Some of the temporary policies were allowed to expire but then got reinstated. Others simply had their deadlines extended. In January of 2021, President Joseph R. Biden announced a plan called the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, and in response, temporary FHA and HUD policies were | more...

June 2, 2021

HUD Revises FHA Loan Citizenship Rules

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a press release which announces important changes to the way participating FHA lenders process home loan applications completed by those who are in the United States but are not American citizens. The policies changed are those that allow a lender to approve FHA home loans for those in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In 2012, the Department of Homeland Security issued a policy for those who entered the United States as minors, and who meet “certain additional guidelines” — these applicants are eligible to request “deferred action from prosecution for removal” from the United States for two years, subject to renewal. This technically makes those eligible under DACA to work legally in the United | more...

June 1, 2021

HUD Announces Resolution To Fair Housing Act Case In California

By Bruce Reichstein

There are plenty of headlines related to violations of the Fair Housing Act. We report on Fair Housing violations partly to remind borrowers to know their rights, but also to encourage anyone who has been the victim of violation of federal Fair Housing laws to report them to HUD. Discrimination in the housing process creates undue burdens on all house hunters. It does not matter what kind of housing you seek, whether or not you are in the house hunting phase or the home loan application phase, etc. Even in cases where the violations occur in relation to rental properties, discrimination hurts the entire industry. In a 2021 Fair Housing discrimination case, HUD has announced a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreement with Cascade Village Apartments II in Sacramento, California. This agreement includes | more...

May 21, 2021

HUD Announces Discrimination Settlement In Puerto Rico

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) to settle housing discrimination complaints over accessibility in federally-funded housing. A press release on the HUD official site says the agency had investigated allegations of discrimination and a lack of accessible facilities with the Rio Plata Housing Development and the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority (PRHFA). The agreement “leverages a federal $2.5 million PRHFA-awarded Housing Trust Fund grant to bring the Rio Plata Housing Development into compliance with federal accessibility requirements” according to the HUD official site. This case was the result of accusations of housing discrimination and inaccessible housing–conditions that resulted in at least one resident unable to use a bedroom or bathroom in her home for years due to a mobility issue. PRFHA had | more...

May 3, 2021

HUD Announces Housing Discrimination Charges Against Redwood, California Mortgage Modification Company

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges against a Redwood, California-based company called The House Lawyer (THL). HUD announced the charge against owners and employers of The House Lawyer in a press release on the HUD official site on April 30, 2021. HUD alleges The House Lawyer violated Fair Housing Act laws, “by targeting Hispanic homeowners with illegal and unfair mortgage modification services”. Among the issues in this Fair Housing Act case, HUD charges the company with collecting fees from Hispanic borrowers “for loan modification services prior to the completion of those services, in violation of California law, while encouraging them to withhold their mortgage payments, putting them at risk of foreclosure”. Fair Housing Act law forbids discrimination against people because of their national origin. That federal | more...

Home Loans For Building On Your Own Land

March 18, 2021

One-Time Close Construction Loan Advice For New Borrowers

By Joe Wallace

If you have never explored your options to build a house on your own lot with a One-Time Close construction loan, you might be surprised to learn that these loans are open to first-time borrowers and experienced home owners alike. Construction loans have great advantages for those who want to build a primary residence. But there are often important questions borrowers need to be answered before they can make an informed decision on building on their own lot. VA One-Time close mortgages for military members and veterans offer a no downpayment option, and FHA One-Time Close mortgages have a low 3.5% downpayment requirement. And the down payment issue is where we get started with our home loan advice. Down Payment Assistance For Construction Loans Most FHA and VA participating lenders | more...

March 1, 2021

FHA Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Watch

By Joe Wallace

FHA 30-year fixed rate mortgages have, at press time a 52-week average of 2.25% (best execution or assuming ideal circumstances) at the lowest end and 4.0% at the highest. However, the numbers currently available–the rates for FHA 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at press time–are listed a 2.88%, a definite rise from the lowest point on the 52-week average. Reading this, some future home loan applicants are likely wondering if they should hurry up and apply for a mortgage even if they are not quite ready to do so. If you read finance blogs and mortgage industry writers, you discover that among some industry professionals, there’s a view that the economic stimulus has at least a partial role in creating conditions ripe for mortgage loan interest rates to start going up again. | more...

February 25, 2021

HUD Announces Further Modifications Of Home Loan Policy During COVID-19

By Joe Wallace

The pandemic has forced many business owners, consumers, house hunters, and home sellers to rethink their approach to the task at hand. The FHA and HUD have modified many FHA loan rules to accommodate the need to socially distance and implement other coronavirus mitigation procedures and prevent the spread of the virus. And in 2021, those modifications must continue. On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, the HUD official site announced extensions of already-modified Single Family mortgage loan policies–modifications that would allow the FHA to help “maintain new mortgage originations for homebuyers and allow 203(k) rehabilitation projects to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Extending these policies insures continued flexibility in certain guidelines for single family home loans. Why is it needed? To ensure home loans are available via the FHA program for | more...

February 23, 2021

Buying And Repairing A Home With An FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan

By Joe Wallace

Are you considering home repairs and renovation? In 2021 some are as part of disaster recovery. Other homeowners need a home repair or upgrade, or they want to purchase a fixer-upper house. Whether you want to replace your current home, or remodel it, the FHA 203(k) rehab loan can help These rehabilitation loans (which are also available as a refinance loan) are for any home owner who wants to buy or refinance a property and repair or renovate it at the same time. There is a standard version of the 203(k) purchase and refinance loan, and a limited version of both for smaller renovation projects. Some Won’t Use An FHA 203(k) But some borrowers won’t use an FHA 203(k) rehab loan. They either cannot, due to the nature of the | more...

February 22, 2021

Texas Home Owners Get Federal Disaster Relief

By Bruce Reichstein

Millions of homeowners in Texas were affected by severe winter weather and unprecedented freezing conditions there; On Monday, February 22, 2021 Texas residents woke up having had their state declared a federal disaster area. Those with FHA mortgages who own homes in the state of Texas are getting help from the federal government in the wake of deadly winter storms in the area affecting some half a million homeowners in the Lone Star State. President Biden has declared the state of Texas as a federal disaster area, and that means federal assistance for state and local recovery efforts. It also means Texas homeowners have access to disaster relief to help repair or replace homes damaged by the winter weather there. Do you have an FHA home loan? Contact your loan | more...