Tag Archives: HUD

Treasury and HUD released a new report Monday on the state of the housing market, including new metrics that provide a more granular view of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Most program participants are moderate and middle income distressed homeowners, with a median credit score of 570, who are underwater on their mortgages. Borrowers in active permanent modifications have seen their monthly mortgage payment cut by a median of 40 percent.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday that it is extending the suspension of its 'anti-flipping rule' through the remainder of 2011. FHA Commissioner David Stevens says the temporary waiver will accelerate the resale of foreclosed homes in neighborhoods that are overrun with abandoned properties and blight. The move is intended to help stabilize home values and improve conditions in communities experiencing high foreclosure activity.

HUD announced this week that it has terminated the Origination Approval Agreements of 15 mortgage lenders' Homeownership Centers due to poor performance and high default rates. In addition, the federal agency terminated eight lenders' Direct Endorsement (DE) approval. Lenders with Direct Endorsement agreements are authorized to both originate and underwrite an FHA loan. HUD's regulations permit the agency to terminate its agreement with any mortgagee whose default and claim rate exceeds a certain threshold based on their geographic area.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday said it has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to work in coordination with FHFA and HUD to consider alternatives for future mortgage servicing structures and fees for single-family mortgage loans. The current compensation plan is typically based on a minimum servicing fee that is a part of the mortgage rate, which FHFA says decreases flexibility for the servicing of non-performing loans.

According to RealtyStore, a provider of local foreclosure listings, the median price of bank foreclosures in Miami-Dade County, Florida, are nearly half that of the current market rate. The firm's analysis showed 64 percent of all foreclosures for sale in the county are marketed by banks. The other foreclosures are listed for sale by government entities, including HUD and the GSEs. Bank-owned foreclosures are priced 47 percent less than the median market price. When it comes to government foreclosure pricing, the discounts are even deeper.

MDA Lending Solutions has launched a suite of products to help customers satisfy Fannie Mae's Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) recommendations and reduce mortgage fraud. According to the company, its new LoanShield suite enables clients to identify suspicious activity, protect themselves against repurchase claims, and lower the chance of mortgage fraud-related issues impacting loan performance.

Sen. Bob Casey says money that has been earmarked to help homeowners who've lost their jobs stave off foreclosure is overdue in being distributed. Casey has sent a letter to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, urging him to release $1 billion in funds Congress authorized last year for HUD to implement the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program for the unemployed. Casey says the promised funds still have not reached those families who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.

HUD recently deployed a new risk management tool developed by Walzak Consulting Inc. for use in its Management and Marketing III (M&M III) program for HUD field service manager and asset manager contractors who oversee the maintenance and sales of foreclosed FHA homes. The model measures and tracks the performance of HUD's REO vendors in meeting and following the department's contractual requirements and operational procedures.

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday a round of grants totaling nearly $73 million to more than 500 national, regional, and local organizations to provide housing counseling services. Agencies receiving the grants will focus on helping homebuyers and homeowners understand their financing and down payment options, and will help combat predatory lending by assisting borrowers with reviews of loan documentation. The new round of grants represent a 22 percent increase over last year's funding.

The government's key foreclosure prevention program has put 504,648 distressed homeowners into permanently modified loans since its launch in March 2009. Treasury released new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, and in addition to crossing the 500K threshold, the data show that servicers stepped up their use of the program. Permanent modifications in November rose 26 percent compared to October, and 20 percent more trial mods were started.