Appraisal Standards

Administration Unveils Proposal to Expand FHA Loan Program
The Bush administration has unveiled a plan that would expand the FHASecure program to help up to 100,000 more at-risk homeowners by the end of 2008. The program expansion would allow the FHA to insure new mortgages if a lender voluntarily wrote down the mortgage principal to a maximum of either 90 percent or 97 percent of the new value, depending on the borrower's risk profile, according to Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery.

Montgomery’s comments came at an April 9 House Financial Services Committee hearing, which was held in response to a broader proposal by panel Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass. Frank’s proposal would have the FHA back from $300 billion to $400 billion in restructured loans for distressed borrowers if lenders were willing to take a substantial loss on the mortgages. Frank estimated that his proposal would reach between 1 million and 2 million borrowers.

The legislation first announced by Frank in March, was divided into two measures: H.R. 5830, the FHA Housing and Homeowner Retention Act, and H.R. 5818, the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008.

H.R. 5818, introduced by Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., would provide loans and grants to states and cities to deal with problems associated with large numbers of foreclosures in neighborhoods across the country. Appraiser Charlotte, Mecklenburg, Union Counties.

H.R. 5830 would expand the FHA program to help refinance at-risk borrowers into viable mortgages and also requires the Federal Reserve Board to conduct a study on the need for an auction or bulk refinancing mechanism. Specifically, H.R. 5830 would institute a voluntary program that would permit FHA to provide up to $300 billion in new guarantees to help refinance at-risk borrowers into viable mortgages. To be eligible for such monies, existing mortgage holders/investors must accept their losses – taking substantial write-downs sufficient to: (1) establish a 3 percent loan loss reserve for the FHA; (2) pay the origination and closing costs for the new loan up to 2 percent; and (3) bring the loan-to-value ratio on the new FHA-guaranteed loan down to no greater than 90 percent of property’s current appraised value, resulting in a substantial reduction in debt service to the borrower. Accordingly, to qualify mortgage holders would need to accept a substantial write-down, accepting as payment in full no more than 85 percent of the property’s current appraised value.

As for new FHA-insured loans, they would have to be properly underwritten and based on current appraised value of the house and borrower’s documented income (borrowers with higher – but not disqualifying – debt levels would need to make six months of timely payments at the new payment level to qualify for the guarantee).

The program will run for 2 years (with flexibility for additional 6 month extensions not to exceed 2 more years). For more information on H.R.

A committee mark-up session and vote on the two measures was scheduled for April 30 and May 1st. Results were not available at press time, but will be forthcoming in subsequent issues of Appraiser News Online.


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