A recent study, Government Litigation Risk and the Decline in Low-Income Mortgage Lending, provides further evidence that the law of unintended consequences reigns supreme, particularly in the realm of public policy. The...more
On August 2, the FHA finalized a rule allowing mortgagees to communicate with borrowers in default remotely, rather than in-person which was previously required, citing positive feedback after waivers of the in-person...more
As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with single-family residential mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Fannie Mae and Freddie...more
The Second Department recently held in Trento 67, LLC v. OneWest Bank, N.A., et. al that the FHA COVID-19 moratorium constituted a stay of foreclosures for federally-backed mortgages, and thus tolled the statute of...more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
On July 17, HUD announced a rule to regulate the sale of seriously delinquent mortgage loans insured by FHA. According to HUD, the proposed rule would increase the availability of affordable homes and enhance the stability of...more
Recently, HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2024-12, updating its regulations to redefine Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) as separate from other governmental institutions with respect to FHA requirements for specific loan...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently finalized in Mortgage Letter 2024-14, dated July 10, 2024, a revision to its Defect Taxonomy to clarify that fraud or material misrepresentation involving a sponsored...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently finalized enhancements to its 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage loan program in Mortgagee Letter 2024-13. This action follows the FHA proposing enhancements to the program last...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued new heightened cybersecurity incident notice requirements that take effect immediately. FHA-approved mortgagees are now required to notify HUD of any...more
In May 2024, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published a Request for Input (RFI) titled “Federal Home Loan Bank Core Mission Activities and Mission Achievement” with comments due to the FHFA on July 15, 2024. This...more
What Happened? Continuing its focus on appraisal bias, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued new guidance to Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) mortgagees regarding appraisal reviews and...more
On May 23, HUD issued Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-10 titled “Significant Cybersecurity Incident (Cyber Incident) Reporting Requirements” which required FHA-approved mortgagees to notify HUD when a “Cyber Incident” occurs. A...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2024-10 (Letter) on May 23, 2024, requiring FHA-approved Mortgagees to report certain cyber incidents to the Department of Housing and Urban Development...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2024-07 addressing reconsideration of value (ROV) policies in connection with...more
In an effort to help struggling borrowers stay in their homes, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD” or “Department”) Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) recently introduced its newest loss mitigation...more
On March 19, the FHA issued Mortgagee Letter 2024-04 to implement the provisions of a Final Rule, “Changes in Branch Office Registration Requirements.” The Final Rule will eliminate the requirement for mortgagees and lenders...more
Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) approved lenders and mortgagees will no longer be required to register their branch offices. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) published a final rule (the “Final...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced a Payment Supplement loss mitigation program for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured Title 2 mortgage loans, the details of which are set...more
On January 11, the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge, testified at the House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Oversight of HUD and the FHA. Topics included qualification for housing programs...more
On January 3, Fannie Mae updated its mortgage loan underwriting system, Desktop Underwriter (DU), to support changes made to FHA and VA loan limits. The update will take place during the weekend of January 20. ...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently proposed enhancements to its 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage loan program. The proposed enhancements are set forth in a draft Mortgagee Letter. FHA will accept feedback on the...more
On November 15, HUD increased its fee limits for property inspections for single-family homes. HUD requires federal mortgage holders to perform property inspections to determine “occupancy status, ascertain property...more
On November 2, the FHA released a mortgage letter (ML) updating the sales comparison approach for manufactured homes. The update to the FHA’s rule affects how real estate appraisers will now appraise manufactured homes using...more
On October 31, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced, after a multi-year effort, the inclusion of policies for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program in the Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook...more