It’s been exactly one month since the Department of Housing and Urban Development officially launched the HOPE for Homeowners program, and it appears that no loans have been cranked through the Congressionally-scripted refinance plan. But on an audio conference hosted this week by Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, HUD officials and industry executives recognized... Read More

FHA mortgage business boomed to a record $78.37 billion in the third quarter, posting a hefty gain in volume while most of the rest of the mortgage market was in retreat. FHA lending has been picking up pace since the middle of last year, when the subprime market cratered and a spreading credit crunch forced lenders to the most liquid mortgage... [Includes one chart and one graph] Read More

The Department of Housing and Urban Development rolled out a series of changes to the FHA home-equity conversion mortgage program, many of which will have a significant impact on originators. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 enacted this summer directed the agency to allow seniors to purchase a home with a reverse mortgage loan, along with a number of other changes HUD officials... Read More

Servicing government-backed mortgage loans is more profitable than originating them, and the new higher FHA loan limits are likely to boost servicing revenues even further, according to FHA lenders. “We are exclusively FHA and we believe that is the most profitable model to go with,” said Michael Ashley, chief business strategist with Lend America. “We feel the government product is... Read More

Lenders doing business with the FHA will have to contend with a new set of loan limits for high-cost areas in 2009 – perhaps as early as the end of next week – that will be significantly lower than the caps currently in place in many markets. Officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development have been working on new median home price tables that will determine the loan... Read More

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released revised guidelines on property upkeep and maintenance requirements for servicing loans in foreclosure. Mortgagee Letter, 2008-31, which became effective Oct. 16, updates physical property upkeep and maintenance and reimbursement for expenses servicers may incur between a foreclosure or eviction and the house... Read More

New legislation passed by Congress and signed by the president has made some significant changes to the home-loan guaranty program at the Department of Veterans Affairs – including an extension of the temporary increase in the VA loan limit, the availability of 100 percent loan to value financing, and the ability for veterans to get out from underneath expensive subprime mortgages. The new law also... Read More

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has lifted its prohibition on the use of loss mitigation efforts for FHA loans to borrowers in bankruptcy, it announced last week in Mortgagee Letter 2008-32. Back in 2000, HUD decided to prohibit loss mitigation efforts for bankrupt borrowers because it was concerned that such actions would violate the automatic stay provided by bankruptcy... Read More