The FHA has announced new principal limit factors (PLF) for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages along with instructions to lenders to ensure that borrowers and their non-borrowing spouses understand the benefits and disadvantages of a reverse mortgage. The new PLF tables have been wholly revised and now include PLFs for use where the borrower has a non-borrowing spouse younger than age 62. In recent guidance, the FHA urged lenders to ensure that borrowers are provided with an analysis of the cost of a HECM loan and its benefits so that they can decide whether a reverse mortgage would meet their financial needs. Lenders also must advise prospective borrowers and their non-borrowing spouses to consult with a housing counselor whether PLFs below 20 percent may or may not actually improve their financial situation or meet their special needs. “Significant consideration should be given to the ...
The FHA has extended indefinitely the timeframe during which servicers may begin to foreclose on properties with reverse mortgages while it considers possible steps to protect non-borrowing spouses of deceased reverse-mortgage borrowers from outright eviction from their homes. The latest action stemmed from a June 10 court order, which found that current statutory protection for reverse mortgage borrowers against forced eviction and foreclosure extended to their spouses even if the latter is not a co-signer on the note. Non-borrowing spouses of deceased Home Equity Conversion Mortgage borrowers sued in federal district court in Washington, DC, last year to stop foreclosure on their homes and to challenge the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s interpretation of the regulation. Since launching the HECM program, HUD has required that a HECM be ...
Agency issuance of single-family MBS rallied during the second quarter of 2014, offsetting a slump in production of non-agency MBS and non-mortgage ABS, according to a new market analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae combined to produce $212.23 billion of single-family MBS during the April-to-June cycle. That was up 13.3 percent from the first three months of 2014, which was the weakest quarter for agency MBS production since the first quarter of 2001. On a year-to-date basis, agency MBS issuance was...[Includes two data charts]
The Treasury Department announced late last week that it is working to develop market practices and standards that would be necessary “to support a safe and sustainable non-agency MBS housing finance channel of significant scale.” As part of the effort, the Treasury posed nine questions to industry participants and is accepting comments on the issue until Aug. 8. Michael Stegman, counselor to the Treasury for housing finance policy, said regulators have addressed most of the problems seen in the non-agency MBS market before the financial crisis. “The last remaining piece of the puzzle is putting in place standards and mechanisms to protect investors in residential MBS, while also clearly defining issuer responsibilities so that they have the confidence to return to the market at scale,” he said. Regulators may have “addressed”...
The FHA is seeking comment on two new sections of a proposed single-family handbook for mortgage lenders. The handbook is in development. Once completed, it will serve as the centralized source of current and future FHA policies. Agency staff is collating policies from several handbooks, rules, mortgagee letters, notices and other sources to incorporate into the handbook. The FHA is publishing two new sections, “Doing Business with FHA – FHA Lenders and Mortgagees” and “Quality Control, Oversight and Compliance,” for comment. The “Doing Business” section lays out the requirements for FHA lender approval, including eligibility requirements, application processes, operating requirements and post-approval changes. The section also contains the recertification process as well as processes for applying for ...
The issue of eminent domain is rearing its head again, compelling mortgage and securitization industry groups to once more mobilize their resources to deep-six the latest initiatives. The most recent manifestation of a resurgent interest in eminent domain is in California, where John Avalos, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, has sponsored a resolution seeking to enter the city into a joint powers authority agreement with Richmond, CA, a vehicle by which both cities could seize underwater but performing mortgages using eminent domain. Avalos’ resolution targets...
Issuance of real estate mortgage investment conduits securities backed by agency MBS declined by 14.4 percent from the first quarter to the second, according to a new Inside MBS & ABS analysis. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae issued a total of $51.5 billion of REMICs during the second quarter. That left year-to-date production at $111.8 billion midway through 2014, down 25.8 percent from the same point last year. Ginnie remained...
Senate Banking Committee Approves HUD, FHFA IG Nominees. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs recently approved the nomination of Julian Castro as the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Castro, D, is the incumbent mayor of San Antonio, TX. The panel also approved the nomination of Laura Wertheimer as inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Senate has yet to confirm their nominations. Meanwhile, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan’s nomination for director of the Office of Management and Budget was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Reform on June 25. FHA Policies on Arm’s Length Transactions and Compliance with State Laws. The FHA is developing guidance to address concerns that laws in certain states may conflict with its arm’s length transaction requirements for preforeclosure/short sales. Until the guidance is issued, FHA lenders should seek guidance and assistance from the FHA National Servicing Center in matters of ...
Freddie Mac announced this week it has obtained insurance to cover some $285 million of losses on a pool of home loans as part of a risk-sharing effort encouraged by the government-sponsored enterprises’ regulator. The performance of these deals has been “stellar,” according to one analyst. The policies, tied to loans the GSE bought or guaranteed in the second quarter of 2013, were obtained under Freddie’s Agency Credit Insurance Structure. First rolled out in November 2013, this week’s most recent ACIS deal – the largest to date – demonstrates...
Securitization, particularly non-agency securitization of subprime and Alt A mortgages, has been widely blamed for the recent financial crisis, although less-studied home-equity loans also may have contributed, according to a government working paper. Results suggested that securitized home-equity loans have higher default risk and produce greater loss severity than similar loans held in portfolio by lenders, according to authors Michael LaCour-Little, a professor of finance at California State University at Fullerton, and Yanan Zhang, a financial economist at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The authors sampled...