Articles Tagged With: HUD News

June 2, 2016

FHA 203h Loans For Disaster Victims

Did you know the FHA offers a type of home loan specifically for those recovering from a disaster? The FHA 203h loan is described in HUD 4000.1 (the FHA loan rulebook for Single Family Mortgage loans and refinance loans) as follows: “Section 203(h) of the National Housing Act authorizes FHA to insure Mortgages to victims of a Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Area (PDMDA) for the purchase or reconstruction of a Single Family Property. Mortgages to be insured under Section 203(h) must be processed and underwritten in accordance with the regulations and requirements applicable to the 203(b) program.” Borrowers must have a minimum FICO score of 500 to qualify under FHA loan guidelines, and lender standards may also apply. The FHA 203h loan rules include the following for eligibility. “The previous residence | more...

June 2, 2016

HUD Announces Housing Counseling Committee

By Joe Wallace

In many of our blog posts, we encourage borrowers to contact the FHA/HUD directly to seek a referral to a local, HUD-approved housing counselor. Pre-purchase counseling can be a very important part of the home loan application process, especially for borrowers who are new to the mortgage loan process. In some cases, as with FHA reverse mortgages/HECM loans, counseling is required as a condition of loan approval. Borrowers can contact the FHA/HUD directly to request housing counseling by calling 1-800 CALL FHA. And now, thanks to action by HUD in compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, a new committee is looking into ways to expand and improve housing counseling. According to a press release at the HUD official site, on Wednesday June 1, 2016, “this advisory panel will help | more...

May 24, 2016

HUD Announces Housing Discrimination Settlement With Eden Management

By Joe Wallace

Housing discrimination affects those at all stages of finding a home, whether looking to buy or trying to find a rental unit. Housing discrimination cases are aggressively pursued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but often times the only way to stop further discrimination is for the victims to step forward to make a formal complaint. That’s exactly what happened in one case, which reached a settlement this week according to a press release from HUD. According to HUDNo.16-76, the agency has reached an agreement with Eden Management in Illinois; “…a $630,000 agreement with a group of Illinois property owners and a management company resolving allegations they violated the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by using rental screening policies that | more...

May 11, 2016

HUD Fair Housing Decision Upheld By Appeals Court

By Joe Wallace

An appeals court has upheld a HUD Fair Housing determination. According to the press release at HUD.gov (HUDNo.16-070), “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it has won an important Fair Housing Act victory in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.” According to the press release, the appeals court decision backs a “Final Order of the Secretary of HUD” following a trial before an administrative law judge, “that a condominium association discriminated against a resident with disabilities by refusing to allow him to keep an emotional support animal.” Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities to include “no pet” rules that affect a home owner or renter’s ability to keep a support animal (that would include home owner or | more...

What you should know about FHA 203(h) Loans For Disaster Victims

May 5, 2016

HUD Launches Healthy Homes App

By Joe Wallace

If you have been looking for a new home to purchase with an FHA mortgage, or if you have recently purchased a home, you may be interested in the latest app from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Healthy Homes app was created to raise awareness of healthy homes issues including mold, asbestos, pest control, carbon monoxide, and more. According to a press release on the HUD official site, “…this Healthy Homes app offers a convenient tool for users to learn about common health and safety risks in the home. The app provides extensive content in clear, simple language so that users can quickly understand the potential hazards throughout a home. The app also helps residents who live in condominiums, single- family detached homes, townhouses, or in apartment | more...

May 4, 2016

HUD brings Fair Housing Charges Against New York Co-Op

By Joe Wallace

The month of April may have been Fair Housing Month, but the work of the Department of Housing and Urban Development continues in the cause of ending housing discrimination. One of the latest press releases from HUD involves an investigation of alleged housing discrimination in New York. According to a press release on the HUD official site, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging a White Plains, New York, co-op with housing discrimination for refusing to grant an exception to its policies that would allow a person with disabilities to buy a unit there. HUDs Office of Regional Counsel for New England, which has jurisdiction over the case, issued the Charge of Discrimination on April 26”. Such discrimination is not permitted under | more...

May 3, 2016

HUD: $37 Million To Fight Housing Discrimination

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced $37 million in funding to fight housing discrimination. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the most recent announcement is one of three notices designed to, “support a variety of important fair housing activities, including fair housing testing in the rental and sales market, public education efforts, capacity building, and education and outreach activities.” The work HUD’s fair housing partners do every day is critical to our efforts to ensure that every family in America has an equal shot at finding the home that is right for them, said HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez, who was quoted in the press release. These grants help to provide the critical financial resources they need | more...

April 28, 2016

HUD Charges Massachusetts Landlord With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Joe Wallace

April is Fair Housing Month, and as the month winds to a close, there are still a variety of government actions involving violations of federal fair housing law-actions taken against landlords, lenders, and others associated with housing. We report on these issues as press releases are issued from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for several reasons. The most important of those reasons is to raise awareness of Fair Housing laws and to remind our readers that the first line of defense against violations of the Fair Housing Act is often found at the consumer level. Those who report housing discrimination complaints to HUD help end future discrimination as well as get government action on the case at hand. Fair Housing Act violations affect everyone–borrowers, buyers, renters, lenders, etc. | more...

March 25, 2016

HUD Reaches Settlement In California Housing Discrimination Case

By Joe Wallace

Housing discrimination affects people in all stages of the journey to find a home. It doesn’t matter whether you are a renter, a prospective borrower, or somewhere in between; the rules that make up the Fair Housing Act apply across the board for those looking for a place to live. The FHA/HUD official site recently published a press release announcing a settlement in a California housing discrimination case; sometimes the victims of housing discrimination are the only ones who can prevent further discrimination from happening. Those who report their experiences do a service to themselves and to future borrowers and renters by helping to end illegal practices such as the ones mentioned in HUDNo.16-035: “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today an agreement with a Cupertino, | more...

March 24, 2016

HUD Offers Grants to Clean Up Lead Paint Hazards in the Home

By Joe Wallace

When you buy a home with an FHA mortgage, one of the appraisal requirements that must be met on certain older homes is that there must be an awareness of potential lead paint hazards in the property. A home that was built prior to 1978 may contain lead paint, and HUD 4000.1 page 115 states clearly: “If the Property was built before 1978, the seller must disclose any information known about lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before selling the house, in accordance with the HUD-EPA Lead Disclosure Rule (24 CFR 35, subpart A, and the identical 40 CFR 745, subpart F). For such Properties, the Mortgagee must ensure that: –the Borrower has been provided the EPA-approved information pamphlet on identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards (Protect Your Family From | more...