FHA lenders are breathing a sigh of relief in the wake of a legal opinion from the Department of Housing and Urban Development which effectively invalidates the Inspector General’s position on FHA loans with downpayment assistance provided by state and local housing finance agencies. HUD Deputy Secretary/FHA Commissioner Edward Golding’s recent memorandum left no doubt as to the eligibility of loans partially financed through HFAs’ downpayment assistance programs for FHA insurance. The memo also refuted the IG’s views on downpayment assistance involving “premium pricing” and rejected the severe financial penalties the IG had recommended against the lender. The dispute arose from a 2015 IG audit of NOVA Financial & Investment Corp. The audit report concluded that gift funds obtained through an HFA downpayment assistance program and used to help pay for ...