Tag Archives: FHA

After falling for five straight months, the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) delinquency rate held steady in July at 8.3 percent. At the beginning of 2010, the rate stood at 9.4 percent. HUD also issued guidelines for FHA's new insurance premium structure, which takes effect next month. The annual premium will increase from 0.55 percent to between 0.85 percent and 0.90 percent of the loan amount. At the same time, though, the upfront premium has been reduced by 100 basis points from the current 2.25 percent.

Neighborhoods across the country are riddled with empty bank-owned homes and unoccupied foreclosures that erode neighboring property values and open the door for blight and criminal activity. The nation's glut of vacant REOs took center stage in Washington Wednesday. HUD announced a new nationwide REO ""First Look"" program, in partnership with the nation's largest mortgage lenders, and it was the first of a two-day Federal Reserve summit to examine the community impacts of foreclosed and vacant properties.

RiskSpan, Inc., a provider of integrated risk and valuation solutions, announced Wednesday that Allen H. Jones is the company's new managing director of its Washington, D.C., federal services consulting practice. Jones has more than 25 years in mortgage lending and housing finance. Previously, he was Bank of America's government lending executive, managing the transition and integration of Countrywide under the BofA umbrella, before becoming the bank's executive for default management public policy and national outreach.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation announced Monday it will enter the wholesale market with select banks, credit unions, and brokers. Using its expertise in Federal Housing Administration (FHA), agency, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rural development lending, the retail lender plans to build a national wholesale platform, funding third-party originations through fulfillment, broker, and correspondent business lines.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has decided to delay the planned adjustments to its insurance premium structure by one month, after the industry expressed concerns about being ready in time. The premium fee changes will become effective October 4, 2010. Lawmakers gave the federal mortgage insurer enough leeway to increase the annual fee it charges borrowers three-fold, up to 1.55 percent. But the annual premium is not going to go that high. It will increase from 0.55 percent to between 0.85 percent and 0.90 percent of the loan amount.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency wants to restrict Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from purchasing mortgages with private transfer fee covenants, also referred to as Wall Street home resale fees. These fees are sometimes worked into home purchase contracts, and require that a percentage of the sale price be paid to the original owner of the property every time the property is sold, typically for 99 years. FHFA says ""the fees fund purely private streams of income for select market participants and do not benefit homeowners.""

Nearly a quarter of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage owe more on the loan than their home is worth, and home prices are threatening to fall further. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), though, is throwing out a lifeline. Starting September 7, the federal agency will offer new FHA-insured mortgages to certain underwater, non-FHA borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments and whose lenders agree to write off at least 10 percent of the unpaid principal balance.

Dimont & Associates, a national claims management company headquartered, has engaged the services of mortgage industry veteran Joe McCloskey. The company says through this agreement, McCloskey will be assisting Dimont with its overall strategic growth initiatives, including strengthening the company's business practices and expanding its business services lines.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has received congressional approval to raise borrowers' annual premiums for single-family mortgage insurance. House Resolution 5891 passed the Senate late Wednesday, after clearing the House last Friday. It now heads to the president for final sign-off. The bill allows FHA to increase the statutory cap of the annual fee charged for federal mortgage insurance three-fold, from 0.55 percent to 1.55 percent, but FHA Commissioner David Stevens has indicated that he may not need to raise premiums to the maximum.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has just $3.5 billion in its capital reserve account. The decline, though, is the result of a shuffling of funds. FHA moved $9.8 billion from its capital reserves to its financing account, the fund used to cover insurance claim payouts and losses. The transfer bumped this loss reserve account up to $29.6 billion and suggests that the FHA may be preparing for another wave of defaults and mortgage insurance claims, although so far this year, claims are coming in well below projections made at the end of 2009.