Peter G. Miller
February 23rd, 2009
You might have thought the HUD counseling mess ended last year, but FHA borrowers now have a new counseling issue to consider: If you’re in default HUD counselors are not supposed to charge you. Some, however, have plainly not gotten the message.
In a letter to FHA mortgage lenders dated February 19th, HUD says:
“HUD had previously sent guidance to HUD approved counseling agencies indicating that fees may not be charged for clients needing homeless counseling or default counseling.
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Peter G. Miller
February 17th, 2009
Once they were out, but now they’re in. The magical system that produces legislation in Washington has now produced an economic recovery bill which once-again includes higher loan limits.
The National Association of Home Builders reports that the final legislation “will help home buyers in high-cost markets by extending the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limit of $729,750 through the end of 2009.” The current limit is $625,500.
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Peter G. Miller
February 11th, 2009
It’s called H.R. 1 and now it’s a done deal. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has passed the Congress, a $787 billion measure that will be instantly signed by President Obama.
What makes this bill interesting from an FHA perspective is what’s missing. Efforts to increase FHA loan limits magically fell out of the bill at the last moment.
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Peter G. Miller
February 9th, 2009
There are some amazing numbers which are beginning to come from the FHA.
It seems not only that FHA mortgages are wildly popular, but they’re replacing a large chunk of the private-sector lending system.
As of the end of January, HUD is saying that it expects some 3.1 million FHA loan applications in the fiscal year that ends in September, a figure up 81.5 percent from last year.
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Peter G. Miller
February 4th, 2009
A number of lenders nationwide are offering FHA mortgages — but with terms that are tougher than the FHA requires.
“Wells Fargo & Co., the second-largest U.S. home lender, and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., the biggest privately held mortgage company, are raising credit score requirements and other standards for government-insured loans,” according to Bloomberg News.
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Peter G. Miller
February 2nd, 2009
I got a call a few days ago from a Marketplace producer with American Public Radio. They supply radio content for stations nationwide, including many stations within the National Public Radio (NPR) network.
It seems an unnamed real estate broker in New Hampshire had complained that the “media” was not doing its part to alert the nation that you can still buy real estate with less than 20 percent down. Marketplace felt there was some justice to the listener’s view and thus wanted to do a story looking at FHA loans.
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