FHA Insures $144 Billion in Home Loans so Far in 2009
Filed under FHA FAQ, FHA news, Mortgage News · Tagged: FHA, FHA loans, FHA mortgage
The FHA mortgage lending reported endorsing $143.9 billion in single-family FHA home loans in the first six months of fiscal year 2009, up 169% from the same period in FY 2008. The Department of Housing and Urban Development expects FHA endorsements will total $290 billion when the 2009 fiscal year ends on September 30. In March, FHA insured $25.4 billion in single-family FHA loans, including $15.3 billion in FHA refinancing loans, according to an FHA monthly report. The report shows that FHA has a 7.08% serious default rate as of March 31 with 347,500 loans that are 90 days or more past due. FHA had a 6.91% serious default rate back in September. Meanwhile, FHA has a 63% share of the mortgage insurance market, compared to 23% for private mortgage insurers and 13% for Department of Veterans Affairs’ loan guarantee program.
FHA Mortgage Loans Update with New HUD Rules for Lenders
Filed under FHA Mortgagee Letters, FHA news, Mortgage News, Published Articles · Tagged: FHA loan program, FHA loans, FHA mortgage, FHA mortgage lenders, FHA underwriting, HUD
Check Mortgagee Letter 2009-12, a note from HUD explaining how FHA mortgage loans are to be originated and administered. In most cases these FHA letters have little content, but this one is a gem. Clearly HUD is concerned about FHA loan defaults, foreclosures and bad mortgages on the public books.
HUD believes that many FHA mortgage lenders have not lived up to the ethic codes and high standards required with FHA underwriting guidelines. That has become a problem because FHA loans that do not meet FHA mortgage lending standards to the letter are likely to be the very loans which cause FHA losses. In an effort to eliminate this growing concern, HUD says that it “continues to introduce proactive measures to appropriately manage its risk. Recently, FHA reactivated its Special Work Assessment Teams to conduct single-focus on-site reviews of lenders whose originations are exhibiting signs of distress.”
Many insiders, like FHA Mortgage Guide, believe that HUD will be auditing FHA mortgage lenders to make sure these finance companies are originating FHA loans effectively with HUD’s government standards. HUD also said that it “must hold mortgagees accountable for their lending practices in order to protect the public trust and the FHA Insurance Fund.
The Department expects each mortgagee to exercise the same level of care in originating, underwriting and servicing an FHA-insured mortgage as it would for a loan in which the mortgagee would be entirely dependent on the property as security to protect its investment. When a mortgagee fails to comply with HUD’s policies and procedures, HUD will take the appropriate action. For example, lenders that materially violate FHA loan program statutes, regulations and handbook requirements may be referred to the Mortgagee Review Board for appropriate sanctions, which may include termination of mortgagee approval.”
HUD has made it clear that compliance with their FHA loan programs is essential or they will remove you from their mortgage lending system. How would you define reasonable and allowable lending fees for FHA home loans? Previously HUD had allowed anywhere from 1-2 points per transaction. The way the mortgage crisis has played out, it has become imperative for most mortgage brokers and lending companies to be able to offer FHA mortgages for new home buying and refinance transactions. FHA mortgage rates remains at or below 5% for thirty year fixed rate mortgages, so being FHA-approved is at the top of most marketing lists for mortgage companies because the product remains the cornerstone of lending in 2009 and beyond.
HUD’ Checklist for Originating FHA Mortgage Loans-The lenders must at a minimum meet the following criteria listed below:
ü Reviews all FHA loans with early payment defaults to try and stave off foreclosure.
ü Has a comprehensive quality control plan.
ü Does not engage in fraudulent or false or misrepresentative advertising.
ü Full documentation demonstrating the stability each borrower employment income
ü No “excessive charges and unallowable fees to the borrower”.
FHA Cashout Refinance Banks Restricted by Tighter Lending
Filed under FHA news, Mortgage News · Tagged: cash out, FHA loans, FHA mortgage, FHA refinance
FHA mortgage loans are becoming tougher to qualify for. As of January 1, 2009 HUD announced that any FHA cash out refinance would require two appraisals when the loan to value exceeds 85%. Since the customer usually has to pay for the appraisal, this adds around $350 to the cost of refinancing with the FHA. In addition, many underwriters are taking a very close look at appraised values, due to the continuing drop in home prices. In turn, the close scrutiny of appraised values by the underwriters are making many appraisers more conservative in the values that they assign to a home. The FHA also raised the down payment requirement on purchases to 3.5% and increased mortgage insurance premiums. The net result is that an FHA mortgage not only has higher costs but also a higher probability of being turned down due to insufficient equity and more stringent underwriting guidelines.
Some Banks Reduce Cash Out Limits for FHA Mortgage Refinancing
Two smaller banks today have reduced the cash out limits on FHA home loans to 85% loan to value, despite the FHA guideline allowing 95% cash out. Rumor has it that larger banks will also follow through on lowering the loan to value limits on FHA cash out refinancing. Tougher guidelines quickly spread industry wide, so expect many more lenders to make it more difficult to cash out on an FHA refinance.
Since FHA loans have a very high default rate (roughly 12%), it is only logical that banks are imposing tougher guidelines for borrowers. The banks simply cannot afford to take on additional default risk given their weak financial position. Many potential borrowers will continue to find it difficult to obtain mortgage approval until the economy recovers and the housing markets stabilize. Based on the way things are going, it could be a long wait.
Cash Out Refinancing with FHA Loans
Filed under Published Articles · Tagged: FHA loans, FHA refinance
FHA home loans have quickly become the mortgages of choice for cash out refinancing and new home purchase financing. Raising capital with a home mortgage was definitely easier in past years. As many consumers have found out the hard way, home equity loans have practically become extinct. Unless you have great credit and are able to provide full income documentation to the lending underwriter, you don’t have a shot to qualify for a conventional mortgage refinance.
Did I mention you also need to be less than 80% loan to value as well? Just last year no equity was required to get cash out when refinancing with a 1st or 2nd mortgage refinancing. After record breaking number of foreclosures every month, most lenders wised up and cut off the home equity loan product line.
In 2008, the thirty year fixed rate mortgage remains competitive and historically pretty low averaging in the mid six percent range all year. For the first time, FHA mortgage loans actually dropped below the conventional interest rate levels. FHA home loans typically carry a little bit of a higher rate because of the increased risk factor that goes along with no equity and lower credit score requirements. Read Complete FHA Refinance Article. – Article written By Sean Dornan
Is FHA Refinancing Doing All it Can to Stop Foreclosures?
HUD released new statistics elaporating on the 400,000 homeowners that refinanced with FHA mortgage loans during the past year. Let’s all congratulate HUD for getting as many people as possible into FHA home loans. The only problem is that such numbers do not exist in a vacuum. The core reason for more FHA financing is very simple: Private-money mortgages have disappeared. But the Housing of Urban Development is not telling the whole story when it says that in July of this year that “HUD expanded the FHASecure loans to help homeowners with adjustable rate subprime mortgages who can no longer afford their mortgage loans and missed up to three monthly mortgage payments over the past 12 months.
Rather than go into foreclosure, eligible borrowers can refinance with FHA and lenders can voluntarily write down the outstanding subprime mortgage principal balances.” The catch, of course, is that “eligible borrowers” have been rare. Figures from HUD show that 455,803 borrowers refinanced with FHA mortgages during fiscal 2008 — the period ending September 30th. During the same period only 3,794 delinquent conventional borrowers were able to refinance with FHA home mortgages.
Less than 1 percent of all FHA mortgage refinance loans bailed out failing borrowers. Does anyone believe that more distressed homeowners could have been helped had HUD relaxed eligibility requirements? Does anyone doubt there the need is there? Loan modifications soared in 2008 and most industry insiders believe that 2009 and 210 will be more of the same.
