VA Clarifies HUD-1 Itemization Requirements. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Home Loan Guaranty office has issued guidance clarifying HUD-1 documentation and itemization requirements. The HUD-1 is a statement lenders furnish to borrowers at closing showing the actual settlement costs, including amounts paid to and by the settlement agent. The guidance clarifies and establishes VA policy regarding the following: itemization of lender/seller credits in the 200 series of the HUD-1; itemization of line 801 on the HUD-1; clarification that credits reflected on line 803 of the HUD-1 cannot offset allowable fees’ and itemization of line 802 on the HUD-1. Ginnie Mae Announces Update to Securitization of USDA Section 538 Multifamily Loans. Ginnie Mae has enhanced the securitization of rural, multifamily housing loans with a Department of Agriculture guaranty to make affordable housing available to ...

Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $360.0 billion of first-lien home loans during the first three months of 2015, lifting the market to its strongest quarterly volume since the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The first-quarter total originations estimate does not include home-equity lending, which many lenders consider a separate business from traditional mortgage lending. In the past, Inside Mortgage Finance included home-equity in total originations, and those market estimates are not being revised. In 2014, about 5.7 percent of total originations ($71.0 billion) were home-equity loans. A number of survey participants have reported...[Includes two data charts]

Quicken Loans said it will be evaluating whether it should continue participating in the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program after the federal government formally accused the lender of improperly originating and underwriting mortgages that cost the FHA losses in paid claims. The Detroit-based mortgage lender two weeks ago took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit against the government for alleged harassment in what it deemed a long-running fishing trip to drum up charges against the company. Last week, the empire struck back. The Department of Justice filed...

The new government-sponsored enterprise low-downpayment programs have met a mixed reaction among lenders. While some said they expect to see an uptick in mortgage activity, others noted the product accounts for just a small percentage of their firms’ business and won’t have much of an impact on origination volume. Fannie Mae’s low-downpayment program kicked off in December 2014, and Freddie Mac implemented its program in March 2015. So far, the volume of low-downpayment purchase loans in GSE business is relatively small. Fannie securitized...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency late last week directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stop charging the 25 basis point “adverse market” fee assessed on all loans since the financial crises, but most lower-risk loans won’t get any reduction in loan-level pricing adjustments. As expected, the FHFA did not make any changes to the “base” guaranty fees charged by the two government-sponsored enterprises. Current fees, on average, are at an “appropriate” level. “We are going to monitor this on an ongoing or quarterly basis and we’ll adjust based on market conditions,” said Sandra Thompson, FHFA’s deputy director. The regulator instructed...

Quicken Loans this week went where no lender in the mortgage industry has gone before: Suing the U.S. government for suggesting it’s been doing a crappy job of originating FHA loans. Its legal action not only caught most of the industry by surprise, but resulted in loud applause from the Mortgage Bankers Association and K&L Gates partner Larry Platt. A number of major lenders have paid...

The outstanding supply of VA home loans in Ginnie Mae pools continued to grow during the first quarter of 2015, climbing 2.9 percent from the end of last year, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of loan-level mortgage-backed securities disclosures. Meanwhile, the supply of FHA loans in Ginnie pools fell 0.5 percent during the first quarter. Similarly, FHA loans in Ginnie MBS declined by 2.2 percent from the first quarter of 2014 while VA loans ... [Includes three data charts]

The GSEs aren’t completely committed to adopting new credit scoring models just yet, but it is on their radar. When asked about the possibility of alternative credit scoring, spokesmen for both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pointed to the 2015 Conservatorship Scorecard which stated that they will be assessing the feasibility of alternate credit score models and credit history in loan-decision models. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, who spoke at a credit access symposium in Washington last week, said that the FHA is exploring new ways to determine the creditworthiness of consumers to increase access to mortgage lending. Housing industry leaders in attendance said Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other mortgage lenders could increase access....

The unusual appointment of a senior advisor to replace Acting FHA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary of Housing Biniam Gebre is causing Republicans to sit up and take notice. Last week, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro tapped Edward Golding to head the FHA, not in an acting capacity, but as a “principal deputy assistant secretary.” The new title grants Golding broad powers to manage the FHA’s daily operations but does not come with the full authority of an FHA commissioner. For example, Golding is restricted from issuing final rules or notices of funding availability. He may not endorse mortgages for insurance that exceed $50 million, such as loans for hospitals and other multifamily structures. Moreover, it is unclear how much enforcement power Golding can wield. More interestingly, however, the process that facilitated Golding’s appointment allows ...

Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities issuance fell in the first quarter of 2015 with FHA volume slipping during the period, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending’s analysis of agency data.Ginnie MBS production in the first quarter totaled $79.8 billion, down from $80.6 billion in the 4Q14, despite a 29.3 percent increase from February to March. On the other hand, production was up 41.6 percent from a year ago.FHA-backed Ginnie MBS issuance dropped 3.1 percent in the first quarter from 4Q14, ending the period with $39.9 billion. Year-over-year volume rose 22.0 percent from the previous year. On the other hand, refinancing increased to $12.3 billion from $7.8 billion during the same stretch. VA securitization totaled $35.5 billion, up from $33.6 billion quarter-over-quarter, powered by refinance loans. Rural housing securitization totaled $4.2 billion in the first quarter, down from $5. 7 billion in 4Q14. Securitized FHA purchase loans rose 7.7 percent in March from February, while ... [3 charts].