FHA is taking comments through April 17 on a request for information on the barriers consumers and lenders face in accessing the FHA 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage program.

The change affects new loans endorsed on or after March 20. The last MIP cut occurred in early 2015, when FHA trimmed premiums by 50 bps for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.

FHA will expand its loss-mitigation options to borrowers at risk of default even if COVID-19 wasn’t the cause of their economic challenges.

Servicers of FHA-insured loans have until April 30 to implement the revised loss-mitigation program.

The timing of an FHA mortgage insurance premium cut could rest on how soon Congress passes a fiscal 2023 federal budget.

Commissioner Julia Gordon said FHA is considering all the potential pieces of a mortgage insurance premium cut, including the upfront premium and the life-of-loan requirements.

Although FHA is required to maintain a minimum 2% capital ratio, there’s nothing in its Congressional mandate that speaks to a maximum.

FHA needs reliable funding to continue its multi-year Catalyst information technology upgrade, Commissioner Julia Gordon said in a recent interview.

As the landscape shifts from refinances to purchase mortgages, the FHA program can be a volume generator, FHA Commissioner Julia Gordon told attendees at the annual Mortgage Bankers Association convention.