Members of the House Financial Services Committee last week repeatedly told HUD officials that they want to act quickly in drafting new laws that would give the rickety FHA program more resources and additional tools to catch up to the rest of the housing market and better monitor for fraud. Critics say the Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn’t have the technology...
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Even the authors of the much-maligned HOPE for Homeowners program are fed up with the low number of cases trickling through the system under its current structure, and the Bush administration’s recent brush-up around the edges isn’t expected to provide much of a boost.“It was drafted so restrictively that it hasn’t been used,” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, one of the lawmakers who...
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The Obama administration’s nominee to take over HUD wants to push the agency to the forefront of efforts to address the ongoing foreclosure crisis. At his confirmation hearing this week in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Shaun Donovan said “the most important public policy decision facing Congress and the new administration is how to best ease the economic...
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The Federal Reserve’s aggressive program to add a whopping $500 billion in additional liquidity to the mortgage market is so far being directed mostly to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs, with little support provided to the Ginnie Mae market where most FHA loans are financed. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York last week bought $23.4 billion of agency...
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Maximum loan limits for FHA loans in high-cost markets may yo-yo back up to 2008 levels as the jumbo mortgage market continues to suffer from a lack of liquidity. Rep. Gary Miller, R-CA, this week introduced legislation that would re-institute those higher 2008 limits for not just FHA, but also for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “As the crisis...
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking a tougher stance on... As FHA business continues to boom, the agency is expanding the variety of education... Applications to become FHA-approved loan originators are coming down the chute at record... HUD officials remain opposed to cramdown proposals that would allow bankruptcy courts...
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