Ed Golding, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing and Head of the FHA, (that’s what it says on his letterhead), issued an informal letter (The Letter) to all FHA lenders on the acceptance of Housing Finance Agency (HFA) down payment assistance programs. Everybody rejoiced. Seems FHA had put to bed the industry’s concerns resulting from actions taken by DOJ against…
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…
Once again we find the Department of Justice out to protect the “…housing market the FHA fund…,” according to Benjamin Mizer, the principal deputy assistant Attorney General. This time, they’re after Guild Mortgage, a San Diego lender with over five decades in the mortgage lending and servicing business. Another big target. However, Guild is not a large bank but an…
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…
With all the talk recently about quality and compliance, we need talk about if a lender has an adequate written Quality Control Policy. Do you? Whether you are outsourcing QC or performing it internally, a lender must have a written plan. This policy must clearly outline the scope of what a lender wants, and needs, to ensure their loans are…
It seems to me like only yesterday when a brand new method of determining a borrower’s creditworthiness was introduced. It was dubbed a “credit score”. It would revolutionize lending. No longer would underwriters need to sweat and labor reviewing the details of an applicant’s credit history and profile. Like Prego, it’s in there. All the necessary ingredients to determine a…
