Articles in Category: HUD Regulations

July 26, 2021

FHA And HUD Announce Streamlined Foreclosure Relief

The FHA and HUD have announced mortgage relief streamlined for those who need assistance as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those with FHA mortgages have a new “FHA COVID-19 Recovery waterfall” which “streamlines and revises FHA’s previous options for struggling homeowners, reduces required documentation, and allows mortgage servicers to provide greater payment reduction for eligible homeowners with FHA-insured Single Family Title II forward mortgages” according to the HUD official site. “This next step in the evolution of FHA’s COVID-19 response is a significant and meaningful way to help those homeowners who will be at a critical point in their recovery in the coming months and transitioning out of forbearance to permanent sustainable payments,” which are the words of FHA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Lopa Kolluri, who was quoted in | more...

July 12, 2021

Documents You’ll Need To Apply For A Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you know the paperwork and documentation you’ll need to complete a home loan application? There are plenty of things you’ll need to gather–what follows is a list of items that are easy to overlook when you’re thinking about filling out an online loan application. This list is not exhaustive–you should ask your loan officer for a complete list of that financial institution’s requirements–they aren’t always the same. Authorization The first thing to know about some home loan documentation requirements? Some of them are fairly non-negotiable. For example, your lender must get copies of your credit report to complete your mortgage application. This requires all borrowers named on the mortgage application to give permission to the lender to do so and you cannot supply your own credit data to the | more...

June 18, 2021

Changes To FHA Home Loan Policy: Student Loan Debt

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development official site has published a press release announcing an important revision to FHA Single-Family home loan guidelines in HUD 4000.1 concerning how a participating FHA lender should consider student loan debt as part of the loan approval process. Before the publication of HUD 4000.1, the FHA Single-Family Loan program handbook, FHA loan rules “did not address how Mortgagees should calculate future payments of deferred student loan debt which, once due, could negatively impact a Borrower’s long-term ability to repay their Mortgage and other monthly obligations” according to the HUD press release. What’s more, FHA loan rules did not consider deferred and non-deferred student loan debt separately. When HUD 4000.1 was published to replace HUD 4155, FHA loan rules were modified to require a | more...

June 16, 2021

HUD Charges Niagra Falls Landlord With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Bruce Reichstein

Housing discrimination at any stage of the process has negative effects on the entire industry. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to purchase or rent. It doesn’t matter if you are a single borrower, or seek housing on behalf of a family, everyone is entitled to fair access to housing according to federal law. Some Fair Housing rights are better understood than others. Most people understand that it is illegal for a landlord, lender, seller, or housing services provider to discriminate against you for your national origin, religion, race, family status, or other non-financial reasons. But did you know that the same is true for having or needing a service animal? Anyone denied housing for having or needing a service animal has experienced a violation of Fair Housing laws. | more...

Credit Requirements For Your FHA Home Loan In 2020

June 7, 2021

FHA/HUD Near Current Deadlines For Ending COVID “Flexibilities”

By Bruce Reichstein

On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States declared a national emergency in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not long after, the FHA and HUD published details of altered FHA loan procedures designed to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. These altered procedures included modified employment verification, appraisal processes, and appraisal protocols such as exterior-only options. The HUD guidelines for these modified policies were intended to address the specific needs and risks associated with in-person requirements during COVID. Some of the temporary policies were allowed to expire but then got reinstated. Others simply had their deadlines extended. In January of 2021, President Joseph R. Biden announced a plan called the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, and in response, temporary FHA and HUD policies were | more...

June 1, 2021

HUD Announces Resolution To Fair Housing Act Case In California

By Bruce Reichstein

There are plenty of headlines related to violations of the Fair Housing Act. We report on Fair Housing violations partly to remind borrowers to know their rights, but also to encourage anyone who has been the victim of violation of federal Fair Housing laws to report them to HUD. Discrimination in the housing process creates undue burdens on all house hunters. It does not matter what kind of housing you seek, whether or not you are in the house hunting phase or the home loan application phase, etc. Even in cases where the violations occur in relation to rental properties, discrimination hurts the entire industry. In a 2021 Fair Housing discrimination case, HUD has announced a Conciliation/Voluntary Compliance Agreement with Cascade Village Apartments II in Sacramento, California. This agreement includes | more...

HUD Announces Changes To Exterior-Only Appraisal Guidelines For FHA Purchase Loans

May 21, 2021

HUD Announces Discrimination Settlement In Puerto Rico

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a Voluntary Compliance Agreement (VCA) to settle housing discrimination complaints over accessibility in federally-funded housing. A press release on the HUD official site says the agency had investigated allegations of discrimination and a lack of accessible facilities with the Rio Plata Housing Development and the Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority (PRHFA). The agreement “leverages a federal $2.5 million PRHFA-awarded Housing Trust Fund grant to bring the Rio Plata Housing Development into compliance with federal accessibility requirements” according to the HUD official site. This case was the result of accusations of housing discrimination and inaccessible housing–conditions that resulted in at least one resident unable to use a bedroom or bathroom in her home for years due to a mobility issue. PRFHA had | more...

May 10, 2021

What You Need To Know About FHA Jumbo Loans

By Bruce Reichstein

How much home loan can you apply for successfully? The answer, depending on the housing market and other variables, might surprise you. It’s one thing to apply for a home loan that meets or is lower than the annual county limit established by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Those loans are easier to qualify for because they can be purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie mac. They are known as conforming loans. But what about those who seek loans that are priced higher than that per-county limit? The answer itself is simple–borrowers can apply for a loan that exceeds county limits. These higher loans are called jumbo mortgages. Borrowers who qualify for them can get a home loan that’s higher than the county limit. But before you | more...

May 3, 2021

HUD Announces Housing Discrimination Charges Against Redwood, California Mortgage Modification Company

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges against a Redwood, California-based company called The House Lawyer (THL). HUD announced the charge against owners and employers of The House Lawyer in a press release on the HUD official site on April 30, 2021. HUD alleges The House Lawyer violated Fair Housing Act laws, “by targeting Hispanic homeowners with illegal and unfair mortgage modification services”. Among the issues in this Fair Housing Act case, HUD charges the company with collecting fees from Hispanic borrowers “for loan modification services prior to the completion of those services, in violation of California law, while encouraging them to withhold their mortgage payments, putting them at risk of foreclosure”. Fair Housing Act law forbids discrimination against people because of their national origin. That federal | more...

April 29, 2021

Fair Housing Month Ends With New Discrimination Cases

By Bruce Reichstein

Fair Housing Act laws ensure all Americans have recourse if they are illegally discriminated in the housing process. The month of April is Fair Housing Month, commemorating the passage of the Fair Housing Act and drawing attention to the ongoing need for federal enforcement of laws designed to prevent discrimination in the housing process. The 2021 Fair Housing Month observation began with a campaign–the Real People Real Results campaign–which celebrates “…the heroism of those who took a stand against housing discrimination and acknowledges the staff and fair housing partners work to prevent discriminatory harassment”. This campaign recognizes an important issue. Sometimes the only people with the power to stop future violations of the Fair Housing Act are those who were victims of discrimination. In the last days of April 2021, | more...