HUD/FHA announced that their FHA maximum mortgage limits will remain the same in 2016, in a press release dated December 9, 2015. There will be no change in the national loan limit “ceiling” of $625,500 or the “floor” of $271,050. This announcement will end all speculation that the FHA ceiling and/or floor would be increasing due to rising home prices…
Most lenders are aware that Fannie Mae has an established policy that requires the processing of pre-funding (or pre-closing) reviews as part of a lender’s overall written Quality Control Plan. These documented procedures must include (at a minimum) the timing of the reviews, the loan selection process, verification of data & documents and reporting. However, with the numerous policy &…
In Mortgagee Letter 2015-27, dated November 13, 2015, HUD/FHA announced some subtle changes in its condominium project approval and recertification policies and procedures. Although it is stated that HUD expects to “increase the pool of condominium projects eligible for FHA approval” by implementing these changes, it’s difficult to comprehend how these changes will contribute to any major increase in loan…
The 3-year reporting requirement for comp sales had only been in effect for less than 2 months and was the topic of much discussion at the various industry webinars and conferences conducted by HUD/FHA staff prior to the September 14, 2015, implementation date. In my blog post from Nov. 6th, I discussed FHA’s recent decision to rescind its short-lived policy…
Appraisers, Underwriters, and Quality Control staff that are involved with the processing and/or review of Fannie Mae and HUD/FHA loan transactions need to be cognizant of the differences between Fannie Mae & FHA appraisal policies on various topics. Outlined below are five examples of these differences: Using a previous appraisal on a subsequent refinance transaction Fannie Mae will allow a…
Now that it has been a little over a month since the official TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) implementation date, many loan transactions are now closing which are subject to the new TRID rules and use of the TRID required forms (i.e. Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure). In this regard, both VA and FHA have provided some guidance to lenders as…
