HUD/FHA announced several substantial proposed changes in its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) policy & procedures on May 18th. These changes are primarily designed to assure the viability of the HECM program going forward which has become a popular way for seniors to tap the equity in their homes and remain in their property & neighborhood as they grow…
HUD/FHA recently announced that they will be conducting an all-day, instructor-led training seminar for lenders with the primary focus on the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (4000.1) and recent updates. This is an ideal time for Direct Endorsement underwriters, loan processors and loan originators to obtain training on the 4000.1 Handbook as there still remains some confusion over the revised…
Last month, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced new tools in resolving disputes of Manufactured Housing units involving consumers, manufacturers, retailers, installers, and others. To help facilitate the dispute resolution process (which could involve very technical construction standards and safety issues), HUD’s Office of Manufactured Housing Programs has created a new website to help interested parties…
The USDA announced that both their upfront guarantee fee as well as their annual fee structure will see rate reductions in Fiscal Year 2017, which begins on October 1, 2016 and ends at the close of business on September 30, 2017. For the USDA’s Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, the upfront guarantee fee will change from 2.75% to 1.0%…
The Veterans Administration (VA) has a new mandatory “stacking order” for loan files selected by the VA for a full file loan review. This new stacking order becomes effective for loan files selected for review on, or after, June 1, 2016. It is important to note that there are two separate stacking order documents that have been created by the…
In a previous blog post, I discussed HUD’s announcement of some of the specific details of its proposed Fiscal Year 2017 Budget (which is part of the President’s overall Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Plan) that had been just submitted to Congress. In reviewing HUD’s proposed 2017 Budget, there was one item of particular interest to mortgage lenders. This was the…
