The FHA continues on it quest to identify lenders who sold high risk mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, mortgages that were perhaps created fraudulently.
FHA has issued 64 subpoenas thus far for loan documentation. As mentioned in our post
“Pendulum Gone Too Far?” of yesterday, FHA will force a lender to buy back a loan that is deemed to have been fraudulently created. That assumes, of course, the lender is still in business.
FHA delinquent loans fell to 8.5 percent of the total FHA backed loans in April, down from 9.4 percent in January. While some analysts see this as positive news, FHA is taking a more conservative approach to see if the trend continues.
Comments Off
A survey of over 12,000 buyers revealed that 87 percent preferred an FHA backed loan over a conventional mortgage. You can read the details on the
U.S. Housing News web site.
Here are the reasons given:
Reasons for using an FHA backed loan
Also on the U.S. Housing News website is a
concise update dated May 11 on the changes implemented in 2010 on FHA backed loans. As the article points out, more changes could be underway.
There are good reasons buyers are favoring FHA. But a problem we have in Cochise County is many of our properties have manufactured homes. We have a very difficult time finding an FHA lender who will lend on a manufactured home.
Resource: U.S. Housing News
Comments Off
The FHA is struggling to balance its need for greater cash reserves against raising down payment requirements and mortgage insurance premium. David Stevens, FHA Commissioner, testified at a House hearing last Thursday that the FHA would insure 300,000 fewer loans if the down payment were raised to 5 percent. The current down payment is 3.5 percent. This would be a drop of 40 percent in the number of loans insured by the FHA. The net result would be a dip in home purchases.
Comments Off
We published three posts¹ about the recent FHA audit. According to Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine, FHA Commissioner David Stevens addressed hundreds of participants at the 2009 annual convention of the National Association of REALTORS® Saturday afternoon. Stevens indicated FHA maintains two reserve accounts, one for extraordinary (unexpected) losses and a regular reserve which has more than the legislated mandated 2%. Commissioner Stevens said that when combined the two reserve accounts are nearly equal to 4%. He went on to say, "Despite the crisis, FHA is still standing with $31 billion in capital, $3.5 billion more than it had a year ago."
¹ They are;
November 13 No Reason To Panic
November 12 FHA Releases Audit Results
November 10 FHA Audit Delay Fuels Concern
Comments Off
A 203(k) loan is a great way to go when buying a HUD home. Often HUD homes are lacking appliances and as long as the property still qualifies for FHA backed financing, the 203(k) can fund your appliance purchase. The amount borrowed is combined with your loan on the property so you pay off the cost of the appliances over the term of the loan. And the 203(k) can also be used to pay for repairs.
(more…)
Comments Off
