Concerned about agency sales of distressed properties to hedge funds and private-equity investors, House Democrats have recommended steps to FHA and the government-sponsored enterprises to improve their nonperforming asset sale programs and protect homeowners and neighborhoods. The measures were outlined in a March 1 letter to both Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt. The FHFA regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both currently under conservatorship. Forty-five House Democrats reiterated their concerns about the way the distressed asset sale programs are structured and the effects they are having in communities where the properties are located. Last month, in a joint letter, two ranking House and Senate Democrats sought information from the ...

The FHA will soon begin implementing system enhancements to the Electronic Appraisal Delivery (EAD) portal to improve its functionality further and to address user feedback. Use of the EAD portal becomes mandatory on June 27, 2016, when appraisers will begin to submit their appraisals electronically to FHA, reducing the time for processing and closing an FHA-insured loan. The FHA will implement the changes on March 14. First, reference to the six-digit alphanumeric “one-time key” used by a mortgagee’s designated EAD administrator to log into the EAD portal will be changed to “appraisal portal one-time key.” References to the key will be revised throughout the EAD portal screens and system-generated messages. The appraisal portal’s one-time key is generated in FHA Connection and is the last step in the initial EAD login process. In addition, users will be given a ...

The FHA’s Home Equity Reverse Mortgage Information Technology (HERMIT) system will shift to a new vendor-operated host data center beginning March 21, 2016. Reverse Market Insight (RMI), a provider of data, analysis and portfolio valuation services for the reverse mortgage industry, has been tapped to manage, maintain and operate HERMIT. Launched in October 2012, HERMIT is an online, web-based automated system that monitors and tracks the FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage portfolio and automates insurance claim payments. HERMIT will shut down temporarily from 7 p.m., March 16, to 8 a.m., March 21, in order to complete the transition. The FHA said there would be no changes to the system’s functionality during transition to the host data center. User IDs and passwords for accessing HERMIT will remain unchanged. Following HERMIT’s transition to the ...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed an argument in a whistleblower case, ruling that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not “federal instruments” for the purposes of the False Claims Act, a federal statute that’s been used aggressively against FHA lenders. The FCA imposes liability on persons that defraud government programs and was originally enacted to penalize private parties that profited illegally in selling supplies to the U.S. Army during the Civil War. In the case of United States ex rel. Adams v. Aurora Loan Services, Inc., et al., the government argued...

The purchase-mortgage market took the biggest hit during the fourth-quarter slowdown in mortgage originations, but strength in first-time buyer activity helped soften the blow. According to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking, refi originations held steady at $175 billion during the fourth quarter. Although refinance activity in the second half of 2015 was down sharply from the first six months of the year, it was still significantly stronger than at any time in 2014 and year-to-date refi originations were up 60.0 percent in 2015. The purchase-mortgage market also grew...[Includes three data tables]

The FHA in 2015 posted significant shares overall among insured loans, except in purchase mortgages where private mortgage insurance enjoyed a slight edge over government-insured products, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of agency loan-level mortgage-backed securities. The FHA accounted for the bulk of insured loans in mortgage-backed securities issued last year, writing coverage on an estimated $236.3 billion in mortgage originations, or 38.8 percent of all insured mortgage loans in 2015. Approximately $608.8 billion in securitized mortgages received...[Includes one data table]

Delivery of FHA loans into Ginnie Mae pools declined 21.6 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, with correspondents accounting for the bulk of FHA loans securitized during the period, according to an Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae data. FHA loans securitized in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities totaled $57.8 billion in the fourth quarter. Approximately $40.6 billion were purchase loans, down 20.6 percent from the previous quarter. MBS backed by FHA refinance loans totaled $17.2 billion, down 23.9 percent from the prior quarter. Correspondents and retail lenders accounted...[Includes two data tables]

There will be no further reductions of the FHA annual mortgage insurance premium or any change in the agency’s life-of-loan pricing, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s top officials.Testifying recently before a House Financial Services subcommittee, FHA Commissioner Edward Golding attributed a 27 percent increase in FHA purchase endorsements last year to a 50 basis point MIP reduction and continued low interest rates. Although he did not provide any updated guidance on MIP adjustments, Golding assured...

The House of Representatives has passed legislation with provisions that would eliminate the cap on VA loan-guaranty limits and create a new office that would manage certain veteran benefits programs, including home-loan guarantees. The bill, H.R. 3016, The Veterans Employment, Education, and Health Care Improvement Act, passed by voice vote and was referred to the Senate for action. It contains...

Some real estate agents and lenders are discouraging veterans and active military personnel from using a VA loan to purchase a home because of misconceptions about the VA Home Loan Guaranty program, a top official of the National Association of Realtors said. Testifying recently before the House Committee on Veteran Affairs, Sherrie Meadows, NAR vice president, acknowledged that some lenders and real estate agents steer their clients away from VA loans because the process could be prohibitive. “They think...