Articles Tagged With: HUD

January 2, 2020

How To Buy A Home In 2020

Need to know how to buy a home in 2020? Making a plan to become a home owner includes budgeting, research, and even sharpening your negotiating skills. Are you ready to start your home loan journey? Shopping Around For A Home AND A Home Loan FHA mortgages allow first-time borrowers and experienced home owners alike to apply for a loan to buy or build a property. But you don’t have to limit your search to one kind of home OR one kind of FHA mortgage. For example, you could apply for an FHA Condo loan to purchase a condominium unit, or you could buy a mobile home or townhouse. FHA mortgage loans allow you to buy properties with as many as four living units, and that could be any number | more...

December 18, 2019

FHA Home Loan Appraisals: What You Should Know

By Joe Wallace

Borrowers have plenty of questions about the FHA appraisal process. After all, if the appraisal doesn’t go well, it could mean the borrower has to decide whether to walk away and find something else or deal with the issues uncovered by the appraisal. What is the real issue with FHA appraisals that confuses many borrowers? The fact that there are multiple standards that must be met and not just the ones that are set by the FHA and HUD. House hunters write us frequently to ask if a certain appraisal issue will affect their home loan. And the simple answer is that there is no easy answer to appraisal questions because of one huge variable. And that variable is what state and local building code requirements say in addition to | more...

December 16, 2019

What You Need To Get Ready For A Home Loan Application

By Joe Wallace

What do you need to get ready for a home loan application? Some things are practical and common-sense moves such as deciding in advance what kind of property you want to buy, while others are more about aesthetics such as the kind of neighborhood you want to live in, choosing urban or rural areas, etc. Why take this extra time? For a start, knowing what kind of property you want can require some serious thinking. The range of styles available alone may seem intimidating to some. In 2019, some of the most popular and most widely-searched for home styles included Farmhouse style, Colonial house style, Cape Cod house style, Spanish style house, and Art Deco style. Starting early can help you weed out the ones you might like versus those | more...

October 30, 2019

HUD Announces New Partnership To Enforce FHA Guidelines

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agency and the Department of Justice designed to provide guidance on pursuing disciplinary actions in cases brought against participating FHA lenders who may be in violation under the False Claims Act (FCA). “This agreement clearly outlines our FHA mortgage program requirements, so they do not impede or discourage lenders from offering affordable FHA-insured loans to credit-worthy borrowers,” according to one HUD official quoted in the agency’s press release. The United States Attorney General is also quoted in the press release adding, “”This MOU sets forth a robust and collaborative process for deciding when to pursue False Claims Act cases to remedy material and knowing FHA violations,” The agreement means HUD and | more...

October 14, 2019

Happy Columbus Day 2019

By Bruce Reichstein

Today we pause from our posts about FHA home loans, FHA refinance loans, and related topics, to enjoy the three day weekend some observe as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, traditionally observed in the United States as Columbus Day. We’ll return to our usual posting schedule tomorrow (Tuesday October 14, 2019) but in the meantime, if you too are celebrating a three-day weekend, have a safe and pleasant one and thank you for reading!

October 4, 2019

FHA Home Loan Rules For Mixed-Use Properties

By Joe Wallace

FHA Single-Family home loans are designed for those who want to be owner-occupiers. Those looking for affordable housing often turn to FHA mortgages to buy condos, mobile homes, town houses, and typical suburban houses. But there is also the potential to purchase mixed-use properties with an FHA mortgage as long as those homes meet FHA standards, lender requirements, local zoning, and local building code requirements. What are the rules for buying a mixed-use property? To start, the nature of the real estate must be primarily residential in nature. The non-residential use of the home cannot detract from its’ use or status as a dwelling. The FHA Single Family home loan handbook, HUD 4000.1, starts in this area by formally defining what it considered to be a mixed-use property and the | more...

September 9, 2019

FHA Condo Loan Rule Changes

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD announced changes to FHA condo loan approval policy in August of 2019, opening the program up to condo loans in condominium projects that have not been added to the FHA approved list. A Final Rule detailing the program changes was published, but in the interim between revising the FHA Single-Family Home Loan program handbook, HUD 4000.1, the FHA and HUD have published rules to manage the new rules. According to an FHA mortgagee letter published on the FHA official site, “FHA systems will be enhanced in the future to permit the issuance of case numbers in unapproved projects” basically from the time the final rule became effective (mid-August 2019) until the FHA and HUD rules and systems are fully updated with the new changes. What is | more...

September 6, 2019

HUD Announces Housing Reform Recommendations

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued recommendations to the President for housing reform, including attention on down payment assistance programs and cash-out refinancing. According to a press release issued on the HUD official site, this is NOT the same housing finance reform plan, which was developed by the U.S. Treasury Department. There are major differences between the two in some respects including the HUD language discussing the need to focus on “the core mission” of the FHA where home loans are concerned. It’s the view of the Treasury Department (as stated in the plan) that any changes to the core of what has traditionally been considered an FHA loan program could be detrimental. The Treasury Department plan states, “…any proposal to fundamentally change the housing finance system | more...

September 4, 2019

HUD Disaster Resources

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is reminding homeowners of the disaster resources available from federal agencies including HUD, the FHA, FEMA, and more. Those in federally declared disaster areas are eligible for special FHA home loan forbearance and other foreclosure avoidance measures. But loan forbearance and foreclosure avoidance are NOT automatic. All home owners still paying their mortgages at the time of the disaster should contact their lenders to discuss next steps and how to make arrangements to avoid home loan default and foreclosure. Lenders cannot help borrowers who do not do so, and it pays to be proactive, especially where FHA mortgages are concerned. FHA Foreclosure and Loss Mitigation Policy FHA lenders are given freedom to use “reasonable judgment in determining who is an ‘affected borrower’ in | more...

August 30, 2019

HUD Announces Expanded Disaster Relief Options

By Bruce Reichstein

The FHA and HUD have announced expanded disaster relief measures for those in federally declared major disaster areas. The changes (see below) must be implemented no later than November 30, 2019 but may be used by lenders right away. The FHA and HUD advise these changes will be reflected in a pending update of the FHA Single-Family Loan Handbook, HUD 4000.1. On Thursday, August 29, 2019, the Federal Housing Administration announced in a press release that the agency is, “expanding its foreclosure prevention options to allow borrowers in Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Areas (PDMDAs) with delinquent FHA-insured mortgages to bring their mortgages current without increasing their interest rates or principal and interest payments.” This is an expansion/enhancement of a temporary measure announced in 2018; Mortgagee Letter 2018-01 “temporarily amended” FHA/HUD | more...