FHA Mortgage Guide

In response to an editorial by the Sacramento Bee, Scott Syphax, the president and CEO of Nehemiah Corporation of America, had some interesting things to say about downpayment assistance programs (DPAs)

“The Bee,” says Syphax, “chose to uncritically accept the Bush administration’s assertions that down payment assistance loans lead to unacceptably high foreclosure and claim rates. Research would have shown that data used by FHA and the Government Accountability Office comes from a data warehouse that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s own inspector general cited as unreliable. In short, FHA undercounts the number of DPA loans by up to three times and divides that number into the number of claims it pays.”

The idea that HUD uses fuzzy math hardly seems novel. Just look at HUD news releases regarding the FHASecure program versus the number of conventional delinquent loans they have actually refinanced. The claims bear no resemblance to what is actually being done to help people with toxic loans who are facing foreclosure.

“This type of disingenuous and manipulative data analysis resulted in two federal courts dismissing HUD regulations banning DPAs earlier this year. These same provisions are now poised to become law,” says Syphax.

Already, H.R. 6696 has been introduced in the House — a bill that would restore the ability of borrowers to use DPA financing.

For the full story, see: Another View: Critics of Nehemiah loans are influenced by bad data

Check out these FHA resources for more information

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