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Articles Tagged With: Home Equity

May 1, 2013

FHA Reaches Agreement With Maryland Mortgage Company Over Discrimination

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD official site features a press release on a recent agreement between HUD and a Maryland-based mortgage company over allegations of discrimination and violations of the Fair Housing act. According to HUDNo.13-061, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has reached a Conciliation Agreement with Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. (PRMI), in Salt Lake City, UT, settling allegations that the lender denied a Baltimore, Maryland woman a mortgage loan because she was pregnant and on maternity leave.” Fair Housing Act laws forbid lenders, sellers, landlords and others involved in housing from discriminating against borrowers based on “sex, race, color, national origin, religion, familial status, or disability” according to the FHA. The press release states, “Refusing to approve a mortgage loan or to provide | more...

 

October 24, 2012

FHA Loan Eligibility

By Joe Wallace

When a borrower applies for an FHA guaranteed mortgage, the lender is required to determine whether the borrower is a good risk by examining credit rating, the applicant’s debt-to-income ratio, and employment. But the lender also has some other checking to do. FHA loan rules state, “To determine whether a borrower is eligible to participate in an FHA mortgage loan transaction or must be rejected, the lender must: examine HUD’s LDP list, the GSA List and CAIVRS, and document the reviews on the HUD-92900-LT, FHA Loan Underwriting and Transmittal Summary.” What do all those abbreviations mean? “LDP” stands for “Limited Denial of Participation”. GSA is short for “U.S. General Services Administration List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-procurement Programs”. The acronym “CAVIRS” refers to “HUD’s Credit Alert Interactive | more...

 

February 1, 2012

FHA Announces New Fair Housing Rules

By Joe Wallace

Nearly 30 percent of same-sex couples were treated differently when trying to buy or rent a home. That figure was published in a 2007 report by Michigan’s Fair Housing Centers. FHA and HUD have announced new regulations designed to end that sort of discrimination and much more. According to HUDNo.12-014, new regulations have been implemented to “ensure that HUD’s core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity” according to the press release.

 

December 13, 2011

FHA Loans, Military Applicants, and Occupancy Rules

By Joe Wallace

There are many reasons why a military member could choose to apply for an FHA insured home loan instead of applying for a VA mortgage. Those reasons may include occupancy issues, personal choice when considering FHA loan fee structures versus VA insured mortgage fees, etc. The decision to purchase a home with an FHA mortgage instead of a VA loan could be influenced in part by language in the HUD document 4155.1, Mortgage Credit Analysis for Mortgage Insurance, which addresses occupancy issues. According to the VA official site Frequently Asked Questions list, occupancy rules for a VA Home Loan include a requirement that the veteran or spouse occupy the property bought with a VA insured loan as the primary residence: “Q: I am a single veteran stationed overseas and want | more...

 

December 12, 2011

FHA Loan Forbearance Rules For Unemployed Borrowers

By Joe Wallace

In July 2011, the Obama administration announced changes to the FHA loan program which requires lenders to extend FHA loan forbearance to unemployed borrowers. This change affects those who already have FHA mortgages rather than those applying for them; the new rules “require servicers to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months. The Administration also intends to require servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) to extend the minimum forbearance period to 12 months wherever possible under regulator and investor guidelines.” According to the FHA press release announcing these changes, “These adjustments will provide much needed assistance for unemployed homeowners trying to stay in their homes while seeking re-employment. These changes are intended to set a standard for the mortgage industry to provide more robust | more...

 

May 16, 2011

FHA Loans: Non-Occupying Co-borrower Requirements

By Joe Wallace

In our last blog post we discussed the FHA loan rules for parents and children who want to apply for an FHA loan together. A parent who acts as a non-occupying co-borrower on an FHA loan for a condominium for a child in college, for example, would be eligible for 100% of the maximum FHA loan amount. Compare that to non-occupying co-borrowers who are not related; such loans are limited to 75% of the loan-to-value ratio. The family status of a borrower and non-occupying co-borrower is an added benefit in such cases. But the FHA has additional rules for non-occupying co-borrowers. For example, all co-borrowers are required to sign the FHA loan regardless of occupancy status. On the surface, that rule wouldn’t seem terribly important, especially in a situation where | more...

 

February 15, 2011

FHA Reverse Mortgages: Should I Use An Estate Planner To Find a Lender?

By Joe Wallace

In our last blog post we discussed FHA Reverse Mortgages and the scammers who try to prey on people who want to apply for such mortgages. The FHA issues regular warnings against paying for services and information that's available for free from the FHA. Some third-party companies are fairly brazen in their attempts to sell services or information that's available free of charge, others are a bit more subtle in the approach, blurring the lines between scam and legitimate customer service.

 

February 3, 2011

FHA Loans: What’s In My Contract?

By Bruce Reichstein

When the buyer wants to buy a property for sale using an FHA home loan, they find the property they want and make an offer to the seller. The buyer will naturally discuss the potential sale with the seller, then make a written offer for the property. The written offer is serious business--if the seller accepts, the written offer becomes a contract.