On April 5, HUD announced disaster assistance for areas in Arkansas impacted by severe storms and tornadoes on March 31. The disaster assistance follows President Biden’s major disaster declaration on April 2. ...more
As previously reported, in April 2020 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD OIG) issued a statement criticizing how mortgage servicer websites were providing information on the...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2020-30 dated September 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides guidance on the underwriting of applicants for FHA insured mortgage loans who were granted a previous...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2020-28 dated August 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the extension of FHA temporary guidance regarding employment verification and appraisals due to COVID-19. The...more
Two federal enterprises who purchase and securitize mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with three federal agencies who make, guarantee, and insure mortgage loans, the Department of Housing and Urban Development...more
On August 27, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the extension of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on single-family foreclosures from August 31, 2020, to December 31, 2020. The moratorium on...more
As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Mortgagee Letter 2020-23, dated July 28, 2020, to update COVID-19 national emergency guidance for FHA loans....more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Mortgagee Letter 2020-23, dated July 28, 2020, to update COVID-19 national emergency guidance for FHA loans. The guidance addresses the verification of...more
In recent days, the federal government, the state of California, and many local governments have taken action to provide tenant and homeowner protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic....more
Despite President Trump’s broad announcement yesterday that all evictions would be suspended by HUD, the Press Release and actual Order issued by HUD are much more limited. In short, HUD’s foreclosure and eviction suspension...more
Jessica Sanderson, Of Counsel at The Volkov Law Group rejoins us for her annual review of False Claims Act enforcement. 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), and it unwrapped a nice gift:...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2019-11, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it is reducing the maximum loan-to-value ratio and combined maximum loan-to-value ratio on cash-out refinance mortgages...more
On October 19, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it settled allegations that a Florida-based mortgage lender violated the False Claims Act (FCA) ?by falsely certifying that it complied with Federal Housing...more
On September 21, 2018, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”)’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) completed a review of HUD’s partial claims program. In many ways, the title of the OIG audit report, “HUD...more
In a July 2018 interview with HousingWire, FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery stated that the FHA wants to bring big banks back to the FHA lending space by increasing transparency and decreasing False Claims Act (FCA)...more
Just in time for the end of the federal fiscal year (September 30), the HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a flurry of internal and external audit reports over the last few weeks on a wide variety of topics....more
Interest rates are on the rise after being low for so long. Owners have taken advantage of those long-term, low fixed-rate loans insured under HUD Section 232 in record numbers. It is possible to keep those below-market loans...more
In recent years, civil enforcement efforts involving the FCA have grown significantly. Today, the FCA impacts a vast array of businesses, as it is commonly used to redress false claims for government funds involving...more
On September 29, the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD OIG) announced the termination of an investigation of a national mortgage lender relating to a purported...more
On October 3, 2016, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two Utah-based Direct Endorsement (DE) lenders agreed to pay $5 million and $4.25 million dollars to settle separate cases relating to their...more
On September 13, 2016, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a settlement agreement with a bank for allegedly violating the False Claims Act by improperly underwriting and originating of FHA-insured mortgage loans. ...more
On August 5, an Alabama bank announced in its quarterly report that it reached an agreement in principal on a settlement amount with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development...more
The purpose of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is "to help creditworthy low income and first time homebuyers, individuals and families often denied traditional credit, to obtain a mortgage and purchase a home." This...more