Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan Rules

August 7, 2015

FHA Loan Fees Which Are Not Considered Closing Costs

There are a variety of fees and expenses associated with FHA home loans; typical costs that the borrower should be saving up for during the planning stages of a new home loan. The FHA requires a minimum 3.5% down payment, for example, and that down payment is considered separate from the borrower’s closing costs. And then there are expenses which are not considered part of the down payment OR closing costs. The FHA loan rules found in HUD 4155.2 at the time of this writing explain these costs. Discount points (a prepaid amount designed to lower the interest interest rate) are included in such expenses–not a down payment, not a closing cost. Chapter Six of HUD 4155.2 describes discount points as follows: “Discount points charged by the lender on a | more...

August 6, 2015

Participating FHA Lenders: Direct Endorsement Versus Conditional Approval Authority

By Joe Wallace

There are two types of participating FHA lenders. One has “automatic authority” or “direct endoresement” (DE) authority to approve your FHA loan application in most cases, and the other has “conditional approval” authority which requires the lender to submit your FHA loan paperwork to the FHA for final review before the loan can be closed. FHA loan rules for these two different types. Found in HUD 4155.2 Chapter One Section A, we learn the following: “Under FHAs Direct Endorsement (DE) program, approved lenders may underwrite and close mortgage loans without FHAs prior review or approval. This includes all aspects of the mortgage loan application, property analysis, and borrower underwriting.” Chapter One includes a note, adding: “This assumes that the lender is a DE lender with unconditional approval. If the lender | more...

August 4, 2015

FHA Loan Rules: Prohibited Payments And Loans

By Joe Wallace

There is a group of rules in HUD 4155.2 that describes payments and loans that are not permitted under the FHA single-family home loan program. Chapter Six, Section A has a description of the rules preventing the payment of “unearned fees”, below market-rate loans and other practices. For example, Chapter Six instructs the lender: “A lender is not permitted to pay any fee, compensation, or thing of value other than for services actually performed, including –kick back fees –fees above that actually paid for the service –finders fees or payments to any party referring the loan –payment to a party that has received, or will receive other payment for the service, unless it is a commission for selling a hazard insurance policy at the borrowers request, and –fees prohibited by | more...

August 4, 2015

HUD Announces Multi-Million Dollar Anti-Discrimination Initiative

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced a large amount of funding that has become available to fight housing discrimination. According to HUDNo. 15-097, HUD, ” …is making $39.2 million available to fight housing discrimination under HUD’s 2015 Fair Housing Initiatives Program(FHIP) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). This year’s funding notice also creates six new types of grants that support fair housing capacity building, education and outreach activities, and testing in rental and sales transactions.” Fair Housing laws affect all types of housing transactions including FHA mortgages. The $39 million is being made available to “support organizations interested in the enforcement of fair housing laws and policies as well as educating the public, housing providers, and local governments about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act” | more...

August 3, 2015

FHA Reverse Mortgages and the FHA Back To Work Progam

By Joe Wallace

A reader got in touch with us recently about the FHA’s Back To Work program, which was announced in 2013 as a way for lenders to offer FHA mortgage loans to people who have had financial hardship in the past that might otherwise disqualify them from a home loan. Back To Work requires the borrower and lender to work together to document the causes of a pre-foreclosure sale, foreclosure, bankruptcy or other financial hardship to show that the issue was circumstantial and not representative of a borrower’s actual credit worthiness. The following guidance to lenders is from FHA Mortgagee Letter 13-26: “As a result of the recent recession many borrowers who experienced unemployment or other severe reductions in income, were unable to make their monthly mortgage payments, and ultimately lost | more...

July 31, 2015

FHA Loan Assumptions

By Joe Wallace

There are people on both sides of a potential loan assumption transaction–home owner and house hunter–who want to know if FHA home loans are assumable. Is it possible for a person who has purchased a home with an FHA mortgage loan to sign that loan over to someone else and allow them to assume responsibility for the loan and take ownership of the home? FHA loan rules say that loan assumptions are permitted for FHA single family home loans. Depending on when the loan was issued, there may be different requirements. For example, “If the loan application was signed by the borrower before December 1, 1986, the FHA-insured mortgage generally contains no restrictions on assumability.” That information is found in HUD 4155.2 Chapter Three and basically allows the loan assumption | more...

July 31, 2015

FHA Loans and “Pre-Payment”

By Joe Wallace

One of the important selling points of an FHA mortgage loan is the basic differences FHA mortgages have from conventional loans; the lower down payment, more forgiving credit requirements, and a rule that a borrower is able to freely dispose of the property in any way he or she sees fit once the deal is closed and the borrower has taken up residence in the home. But there’s another important difference between some conventional mortgages and FHA loans. Did you know that under the FHA loan program you cannot be penalized or charged for early payoff of the loan? HUD 4155.2 Chapter Three has a section that governs what the FHA terms, “pre-payment”. It says that a borrower may pre-pay an FHA mortgage “in whole or in part”. It also | more...

July 30, 2015

FHA Loans, Escrow Accounts, And Real Estate Taxes

By Joe Wallace

There are many FHA loan questions regarding the use of escrow accounts, especially when it comes to new purchase loans. Applicants sometimes get confused when the lender requires an escrow account. Since FHA loan rules do not require the use of escrow, some borrowers may wrongfully believe they don’t have to use them, period. But your lender may require the use of escrow and this is fully permitted under the FHA loan program. In fact, FHA loan rules anticipate some lenders requiring escrow for a variety of loan transactions; one use of escrow is to collect and pay property taxes. According to the FHA/HUD official site, “It is the lender’s decision whether the borrower must maintain an escrow account for the purpose of paying taxes and other items. The HUD | more...

July 30, 2015

FHA Loan Settlement Dates, Per Diem Interest At Closing

By Joe Wallace

The rules for FHA home loans regarding closing dates and related details are found in HUD 415.2 (at the time of this writing) in Chapter Six under the heading, General Loan Closing Requirements. There are a few items in this section that should be noted in case FHA borrowers have questions–including the basic definition of a closing date as described in the rulebook: “The date of closing/settlement is generally considered the date on which the note and mortgage are signed by the borrower. This is also the date defined as the settlement date on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. However, the 60-day endorsement submission clock begins on the date that the lender relinquishes control of the loan proceeds (disburses the mortgage funds), for both purchase money mortgages and refinance transactions.” FHA | more...

July 29, 2015

FHA Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Trends

By Joe Wallace

For about ten business days now we’ve watched mortgage loan interest rates either hold steady or make small improvements. The gains aren’t dramatic enough from day to day to force much change in the best execution numbers we report here; instead borrowers likely notice the difference in closing costs. But whatever the case, ten days of rates that aren’t getting any higher is a good thing after the sustained upward trend we’ve witnessed this summer. Yesterday (Tuesday July 28) we saw the first day of slightly higher rates since that holding-to-slightly-improved trend began. The move higher certainly wasn’t enough to push rates out of their current comfort zones, so we have 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loans holding steady (best execution) at the 4.0% to 4.125% range we’ve been discussing | more...