Category Archives: HUD Regulations
FHA/HUD Advice on Closing The Deal on Your New Home
There are many things about closing the deal on a new home that first-time home buyers should understand before getting to the bargaining table. Do you know, for example, what information should appear on a Good Faith Estimate, or how to compare that estimate to your HUD-1 Settlement Statement? Some borrowers are surprised to learn
FHA Loan Reader Questions: Chapter 13 Bankruptcy and FHA Loans
A reader asks, “I want to buy a home for my family using FHA financing. My credit, income, assets, and work history meet the FHA requirements. My wife’s credit is low, 650, due to a Ch.13 bankruptcy that she alone filed back in December 2010… I’ve been paying on all her debts ON TIME, including
FHA and HUD Announce $202 Million Settlement With Deutsche Bank and MortgageIT
The Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced a multi-million dollar settlement with Deutsche Bank and MortgageIT following a government lawsuit filed in 2011. According to an FHA/HUD press release, the United States government filed suit last year against MortgageIT (owned by Deutsche Bank) for “repeated false certifications to
FHA Loan Reader Questions: Flood Zones
A reader asks, “I live in a town that is considered a flood area regardless whether you’re on a hill or in the valley…will the FHA do a manufactured home loan considering the area?” FHA loan rules are specific when it comes to flood zones,and make a distinction between areas prone to flooding and something
Is My FHA Home Loan Eligible For The Bank Of America Principal Reduction Offer?
The Department of Housing and Urban Development official blog, The HUDdle, linked to a news story recently about Bank Of America’s loan reduction program. According to the story posted on CommercialAppeal.com, “More than 200,000 letters from Bank of America will begin landing in homeowners’ mailboxes this week, the bank said today, offering principal reduction as
FHA Appraisals: Who Is Responsible For Appraisal Quality?
One question about FHA home loans doesn’t usually come up unless someone in the FHA loan process is dissatisfied with the appraisal, but it’s a question asked often enough to be included in the FHA/HUD list of the most frequently asked questions: Who is responsible for the quality of an FHA appraisal? According to the
FHA Kicks Off Fair Housing Month With Discrimination Settlements
The FHA and HUD begin Fair Housing Month by announcing settlements with lenders accused of violating the Fair Housing Act. Magna Bank and Home Loan Center have both settled with the FHA in cases where the lenders are accused of discriminating against women on maternity leave who had applied for home loans. According to a
FHA Loan Questions: Mortgage Insurance Premiums
A reader asks, “I thought that it was announced recently that FHA insurance premiums were being decreased not increased?” Effective June 11, 2012, FHA Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP) will decrease for certain types of FHA Streamline Refinance Loans. According to the FHA Mortgagee Letter 12-4, “For all SF Forward Streamline Refinance transactions that
HUD Permanently Bars AmericaHomeKey From Doing Business With the FHA
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a press release advising consumers that a company called AmericaHomeKey has been permanently barred from doing business with the FHA due to “serious and repeated violations of FHA standards”. According to the press release HUDNo.12-061, the HUD Mortgagee Review Board (MRB for short) announced that it has
FHA Loan Rule Changes: Collections, Judgments and Payoffs
FHA loan rules are not set in stone, they are subject to change as new laws, new market conditions or other factors evolve. One set of recent changes to FHA mortgage loan rules has a direct effect on how some FHA loan applicants are approved–or disapproved–for FHA home loans. According to FHA mortgagee letter 2012-3,
