Articles Tagged With: FHA Updates

December 27, 2016

HUD Announces Additional Relief To Disaster Areas

As 2016 draws to a close, HUD announces that some of the hardest hit natural disaster areas are getting nearly $2 billion in additional federal relief. According to a Department of Housing and Urban Development press release, HUD “awarded an additional $1.8 billion to help Louisiana, West Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida to recover after severe flooding events that occurred earlier this year. Provided through HUDs Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program, these recovery funds will assist the most impacted communities that experienced the most serious damage to their housing stock.” Earlier this month, President Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2017 Further Continuing Resolution, which became law on December 10, 2016. The resolution is described on the HUD official site as a stopgap spending measure. | more...

December 26, 2016

Happy Holidays!

By Joe Wallace

Happy Holidays 2016! The Monday AFTER December 25 might seem to be a strange time to make that statement, but today is the observed holiday since Christmas came over the weekend this year. Many banks are closed, the markets that affect mortgage rates aren’t operating to day, and we too observe the extended holiday weekend. We’ll resume our usual posting schedule on Tuesday including an updated look at mortgage rate trends. Thank you for reading!

December 16, 2016

HUD Adds New Housing Counseling Requirements

By Joe Wallace

Housing counseling is an important resource for those who want to apply for a mortgage loan. When borrowers decide to start on the journey to home ownership, there can be many areas they are unsure about. That’s one reason why it can be helpful to contact the FHA directly at their toll-free number (1-800 CALL FHA) to request a referral to a local, HUD-approved housing counselor to get expert advice and help in areas related to budgeting for a mortgage payment, credit issues, the home loan process and more. In some cases, certain types of counseling are actually required as a condition of FHA loan approval; this is true for FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), where all borrowers must attend counseling to insure they understand the nature of HECM | more...

November 11, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Sharply Higher Post-Election

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan interest rates are not tied to election results. However, investor reaction to major events that have economic implications-and the 2016 Presidential election is definitely one of those-can and often does result in changes in mortgage loan rates. We won’t speculate or editorialize on the outcome of the 2016 election, that’s beyond the scope of this report. However, in the wake of election night, we have seen markets react sharply to both the results and the aftermath. On election night alone, the Dow fell dramatically after hours, with recovery the next day. This is a common knee-jerk reaction in the marketplace under such circumstances. What’s important for borrowers to know? At the moment we are in an upward trend for mortgage loan interest rates. Investor reaction to the election | more...

November 7, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Improving Slightly

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan interest rates are not directly tied to things like scheduled economic data releases. Friday’s job report, for example, is not directly associated with rate movements, but investor reaction to such reports can and often does influence mortgage rates. The usual rule of thumb is, in general, what is bad for the economy often benefits interest rates. So when you get good news (or at least, better news) in a job report, you could reasonably expect conditions to be favorable to higher mortgage rates assuming you use that rule of thumb. But sometimes that rule won’t apply for one reason or another, and that was the case on Friday when mortgage rates improved slightly even though the jobs data was stronger than some thought it might be. In this | more...

September 22, 2016

HUD Announces Final Rule For Equal Access

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a new final rule that promises important protections for all Americans seeking housing, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the new final rule is known as, “Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity“. The press release says the final rule affects everything from FHA mortgage loan programs to housing services and benefits. “Following what had previously been a practice encouraged by HUD, providers that operate single-sex projects using funds awarded through the Departments Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) will now be required to provide all individuals, including transgender individuals and other individuals who do not identify with the sex | more...

August 1, 2016

HUD Announces Settlement In Pennsylvania Housing Discrimination Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Pennsylvania housing discrimination case involving a loan applicant on maternity leave. According to the press release on the HUD official site, “…a Conciliation Agreement with Philadelphia-based Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, collectively known as Citizens Bank, settling allegations that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act when it told a female applicant that she would need to return to work before her application for a home equity line of credit could be approved.” Fair Housing Act laws state that it is illegal to discriminate against borrowers, “in the terms, conditions, or privileges associated with the sale or rental of a dwelling on the basis of familial status”, which includes denying a mortgage | more...

July 19, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Unchanged To Slightly Higher

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan interest rates were unchanged to slightly higher on Monday, though some borrowers will have noticed Monday’s changes in the form of slightly higher closing costs rather than an actual change in mortgage rates. We’re watching an overall upward trend in rates at the moment. World headlines continue to have potential to move rates, though the market hasn’t given much attention to certain issues such as the unrest in Turkey. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages were still at or near 3.375% best execution, depending on the lender and other factors. Some lenders are higher, some reflect the most recent moves in terms of adjusted closing costs (as mentioned above). FHA mortgage loan rates remain in their 3.25% best execution comfort zone. “Best execution” refers to the rates offered under | more...

June 6, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Lower After Jobs Report

By Joe Wallace

Ever since the Fed began discussing the possibility of another interest rate hike, we’ve seen upward pressure on mortgage loan interest rates. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan interest rates had fallen as low as 3.5% for some of the most competitive lenders (best execution) prior to that Fed talk, but once the upward movement began it wasn’t long before conventional rates began hitting 3.75% territory. During all this time, FHA mortgage loan rates held steady in a best execution range between 3.25% and 3.5%. As we frequently mention, FHA mortgage loan interest rates can and do vary more among participating lenders, so it pays to shop around. The FHA best execution range of rates mentioned here persisted even when conventional rates were going back and forth between a range | more...

May 19, 2016

FHA Proposes New Rule To Strengthen Reverse Mortgage Program

By Joe Wallace

The FHA has announced a new proposed rule intended to strengthen the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan program. According to the FHA official site, the proposal would “codify several significant changes to FHAs Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program that were previously issued under the authority granted to HUD in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013, and to make additional regulatory changes”. A press release at FHA.com states the new rule would, once approved, “make certain FHA-insured reverse mortgages remain a viable and sustainable resource for senior homeowners hoping to remain in their homes and age in place.” The agency has spent the last two years working on reforms intended to improve the FHA HECM program. “We’ve gone to great | more...