Tag Archives: HUD

An annual audit of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) books has concluded there is a 50-50 chance the government mortgage insurer will need a bailout from taxpayers within the next 12 months. The agency's cash reserves have been cut almost in half over the past year and its capital reserve ratio has plunged to 0.24 percent. The minimum legal limit mandated by Congress is 2 percent. News of the agency's deteriorating bottom line comes just as lawmakers are advancing a bill that would likely increase FHA's market share.

More than 445 nonprofit housing counseling agencies nationwide have one simple message for Congress: Restore housing counseling funds. Mandated federal budget cuts earlier this year stripped away $88 million in HUD funding that had been designated to support mortgage and foreclosure counseling programs. Those working on the front lines of the housing crisis everyday say counseling is critical to assisting distressed homeowners, and they're calling on lawmakers to restore funding at the level of $60 million.

Hudson & Marshall has once again been selected to partner with HUD to auction over 100 foreclosed homes located in Nevada and Arizona. The auction will take place this Saturday, November 5th at the JW Marriott in Las Vegas. There will be two separate auction events on that day - one strictly for owner occupants and the second open to all bidders, including investors. HUD will pay a 3 percent selling agent commission to qualified brokers who are registered with HUD.

Treasury has released a new progress report on its Making Home Affordable initiative, covering all the ""H"" acronyms. Since the program started in April 2009, 857,000 homeowners have received permanent loan restructurings under HAMP, and 894,000 have refinanced their mortgages through HARP. HAFA transactions tally just under 19,000. Officials say they continue to see a fall in mortgage defaults due in part to foreclosure prevention programs reaching more borrowers upstream in the process, but there's ""much more work to do.""

As of Tuesday, HUD's Mortgage Review Board is suspending Houston-based Allied Home Mortgage Corporation from originating or underwriting new mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Ginnie Mae is suspending the lender from issuing bonds through its mortgage-backed securities program. HUD also suspended James C. Hodge, Allied's president and CEO and may debar Hodge and Jeanne L. Stell, EVP of Allied Home Mortgage.

Thirty-three senators have put out a letter encouraging the Obama administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to work quickly in developing a program to make vacant foreclosed homes available for rent. The administration is currently sifting through responses to the request for information (RFI) it issued in August regarding an REO rental program. The senators want federal officials to respond with a timeline for when they expect to finish reviewing the RFIs and their next steps.

HUD has approved a program aimed at putting foreclosed homes back into the hands of owner-occupant buyers. In select states, from now into October of next year, buyers need a down payment of only $100 to purchase a HUD-owned REO home. The buyer must be an owner-occupant, utilizing financing insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Contacts in the field say one of the most exciting features of this incentive program is that it can also be applied to an FHA 203k loan, which can be used to fund repairs and renovations on the home.

President Obama on Thursday announced his intent to nominate Carol J. Galante to lead the federal agency that insures mortgages against default. If confirmed, Galante would take on the role of assistant HUD secretary and commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Galante stepped up as acting FHA commissioner in April, when David Stevens vacated the post to take the head spot at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) alleges CitiMortgage, Inc. has violated the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Preforeclosure Sale Program by submitting improper claims for short sales. After examining 68 FHA claims, the inspector general found 63 claims for loans it says Citi did not properly review to verify that the borrowers were in default or in imminent danger of default. Citi ""respectfully disagrees"" in its written response.

Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee point to the GSEs and the Obama administration's housing programs as areas for Congress' deficit reduction super-committee to examine as it works toward cutting $1.5 trillion of the nation's debt. A letter drafted by Chairman Spencer Bachus and signed by 20 Republican committee members first calls for an increase in the GSEs' guarantee fees and then the elimination of such programs as HAMP and HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program.