Mortgage servicers will be able to offer the mortgage recovery advance option as a standalone feature or as part of a 30- or 40-year loan modification, the Rural Housing Service said.

The USDA’s Section 502 loan program could be the answer to the affordable housing crisis in towns near tourist attractions.

The new proposal from USDA’s Rural Housing Service would eliminate the need for a second lien in new servicing options for non-performing home loans.

Looser pooling requirements for delivering reperforming loans to Ginnie; FHA revises policy handbook; FHA updates instructions for use of GSE model forms; FHA hiring; VA revises various forms; VA offers loan review API; CHLA calls for permanent PTAP; RHS proposes loosening loss-mitigation standards.

A last-minute budget deal resulted in funding increases for many HUD housing-related programs.

Outlook for Wells’ participation in FHA market unclear; Biden signs legislation to improve VA appraisals; MBA calls for higher fee on mortgage assumptions; VA revises forms; FHA hosting webinar on quality assurance; Rural Housing Service updates program guidelines.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of FHA mortgages, among other measures.

At a congressional hearing, industry stakeholders called for increased funding to boost technology and staffing at rural housing programs.

Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford called on the group’s affiliates and other nonprofits to make new efforts to partner with USDA to improve homeownership in rural areas.

The government agency is investing $470,000 in a sweat equity program in which homebuyers in rural southwest Pennsylvania will contribute to the construction or rehabilitation of their houses.