Articles Tagged With: HUD

April 19, 2016

HUD Files Discrimination Charges Against Kansas Landlord

Fair Housing laws don’t just protect home loan applicants. They also protect renters and house/home hunters in the process of trying to find a place to live. You may not think that a housing discrimination case against a renter or potential renter has much to do with FHA loans, but consider the large number of people every year who must relocate due to employment or education needs and it’s clear that even for those who haven’t committed to an FHA mortgage yet, fair housing issues can affect your journey to a new place to live. That’s one reason why we report on cases like the recent HUD charges brought against a Kansas landlord. According to a press release on the FHA/HUD official site, ” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban | more...

April 14, 2016

FHA Clarifies Deferred Obligation/Student Loan Rules For FHA Loans

By Joe Wallace

The FHA is updating and clarifying the rules for deferred obligations as they pertain to how a lender is to calculate student loan debt. Lenders have, to this point, been required to include the amount of a borrower’s monthly student loan payment–or in the case of deferred payment, a percentage of the total amount. However, the FHA recently issued a mortgagee letter informing lenders of changes to FHA policy. According to HUD Mortgagee Letter 2016-08, the new guidance will affect “all FHA Title II forward mortgage programs with the exception of non-credit qualifying streamline refinances” and “provides documentation requirements and the standard for calculating monthly obligations for all student loans, regardless of payment type or status of payments”. As background, the mortgagee letter states: “With the implementation of Handbook 4000.1, | more...

April 13, 2016

HUD Launches Improved Manufactured Housing Dispute Resolution Program

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched improvements to its manufactured housing dispute resolution program, according to a press release on the FHA/HUD official site. According to HUDNo.16-046, the program is designed to “help consumers and the manufactured housing industry to resolve disputes involving the purchase and installation of manufactured housing.” The HUD Office of Manufactured Housing Programs (OMHP) has created a new website for homeowners, manufacturers, retailers and installers to, “navigate the dispute resolution process in those states that do not have their own process” According to the press release, there are more than twenty states that don’t have their own manufactured housing dispute resolution programs. “HUD is updating its dispute resolution program in the following states: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, | more...

April 11, 2016

Department of Justice Announces Settlement In Wells Fargo Improper Lending Practices Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Justice has announced a settlement in the improper lending practices case brought against Wells Fargo. According to a DoJ press release, “…the United States has settled civil mortgage fraud claims against Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo) and Wells Fargo executive Kurt Lofrano, stemming from Wells Fargo’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Direct Endorsement Lender Program. In the settlement, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $1.2 billion and admitted, acknowledged and accepted responsibility for, among other things, certifying to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), during the period from May 2001 through December 2008, that certain residential home mortgage loans were eligible for FHA insurance when in fact they were not, resulting in the Government having to pay FHA insurance claims when some of | more...

What happens to my FHA loan in a natural disaster?

April 5, 2016

New Guidelines For FHA HECM Loans

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD have issued new, more permissive HECM guidelines for lenders, with an optional extension to submitting a Due and Payable request where borrowers are behind on the payment of their property taxes and/or hazard insurance premium” according to Mortgagee Letter HUDNo.16-07. That Mortgagee Letter states, “For HECM loans that were in foreclosure proceedings prior to the issuance of Mortgagee Letter 2015-11, mortgagees may assess those borrowers for a Repayment Plan in accordance with Mortgagee Letter 2015 – 11. For HECM loans that exceed 98% of the Maximum Claim Amount (MCA) or would exceed 98% of the MCA if they were provided a Repayment Plan, mortgagees may elect to assess and provide such borrowers a Repayment Plan in accordance with Mortgagee Letter 2015-11.” HECM borrowers are required to | more...

April 4, 2016

FHA and HUD Kick Off Fair Housing Month

By Joe Wallace

April is Fair Housing Month, a time when efforts are made to raise the awareness of fair housing issues and federal law that protects those seeking a place to live from discrimination. That’s why the FHA and HUD began Fair Housing Month 2016 with the launch of a national media campaign designed to help the public, “to envision what communities with shared opportunity for all might look like. The new campaign is designed to further educate the public about their housing rights and the ideals behind HUDs new Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) initiative” according to a 1 April press release. “The campaign, which was developed in partnership with the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), will include print Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in various languages, television PSAs in English and | more...

March 29, 2016

FHA/FDIC Advice On Interest-Only Loans, Adjustable Rate Mortgages

By Joe Wallace

We discuss a lot of aspects of the FHA home loan process, but sometimes it’s a very good idea to go right to the source–the FHA itself–to get the agency’s take on certain aspects of the FHA loan process. The FHA official site–www.FHA.gov–has some good advice for borrowers contemplating their loan options including interest-only loans and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). What does the agency say to potential borrowers about these kinds of loans? One of the first pieces of advice is along the basic lines of, “do your homework, and be sure to read the fine print”. The FHA official site actually directs readers to look at another official government website–the FDIC official site–for some sound advice on how to approach the mortgage loan process where ARMs and interest-only mortgages | 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 17, 2016

FHA Loan Advice: Know Your Costs, Interest Rates

By Joe Wallace

We give a lot of advice both here and in our comments section about FHA home loans. And there’s a lot to give; FHA loan rules cover everything from the acceptable minimum condition of the home to a borrower’s credit requirements for maximum financing. But what does the FHA itself, as a government agency, say about the home buying process? Our publication is not associated with the FHA in any way, and what follows is the result of our research and examination of FHA-published material. What we have found is definitely information a potential borrower should consider during the planning stages of a new home loan or refinance loan. An FHA publication titled, Looking For The Best Mortgage has some excellent overall advice for the borrower starting with the old | more...

March 15, 2016

FHA Refinance Loan Basic Requirements

By Joe Wallace

FHA refinance loans offer a variety of options for the borrower. In many cases you don’t have to have an existing FHA loan in order to refinance into one; with certain types of FHA refinancing you do have to have an FHA loan. There are cash-out refinance loans available, no-cash-out, and streamline refinances available. Do you know which one is right for you? FHA loan rules found in HUD 4000.1 list the available types of refinancing available, as well as the borrower eligibility requirements, on page 126. It begins by stating: “FHA insures several different types of refinance transactions: 1. No cash-out refinances of FHA-insured and non FHA-insured Mortgages are designed to pay existing liens. These include: Rate and Term refinance, Simple Refinance, and Streamline Refinance. 2. Cash-out refinances are | more...