www.charlotte-appraiser.net
FHA/HUD News:
As you know, in response to the housing crisis, FHA has expanded its mission to help more Americans facing foreclosure refinance into safer, more affordable mortgages. In late August 2007, President Bush introduced a new product called FHASecure for homeowners who were unable to make their mortgage payments after their interest rate reset. Since then, more than 260,000 families have refinanced with FHA. Hundreds of thousands more will refinance with FHA by the end of the year.
Starting on July 14th, FHASecure will begin to provide additional assistance to subprime borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages, and help to restore liquidity and stability to the markets. It will assist families who have missed up to three monthly mortgage payments over the previous 12 months or have experienced temporary economic hardship, such as loss of overtime or medical needs, as well as those who were affected by payment shock. The expansion will also encourage lenders to voluntarily write down outstanding subprime mortgage principal.
We estimate this plan will help an additional 100,000 families refinance into more affordable FHA-insured loans by the end of the year.
The combination of all efforts under FHASecure will help a total of 500,000 families by year's end. Our monthly refinancings this fiscal year are already more than five times the level of 2006. It is clear people are coming to us as their solution for the future.
As part of this expansion, we are instituting a fairer, more flexible premium pricing structure at FHA. Like any other insurance company, FHA will begin pricing the insurance premiums for these borrowers according to their credit risk. This will eliminate a pricing inequity that treats applicants with a low risk of default the same as those with a high risk of default.
Risk-based pricing will benefit many borrowers, especially lower-income American families. In FHA's portfolio, families with the lower incomes actually have higher FICO scores. These are hard-working American families who live within their means and pay their bills on time. Pricing mechanisms should reflect that fact.
The bill currently moving through the Senate would place a moratorium on risk-based pricing. That would be a big mistake. FHA will have to increase premiums across the board on all borrowers or, alternatively, seek taxpayer funds in October to cover potential losses, or cut back on the program at the very time we are an island of hope for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
In addition to a possible moratorium on risk-based pricing, Congress may require FHA to accept mortgage insurance loans with seller-funded down payment assistance. The option for FHA not to insure such mortgages would be removed. This would not only be costly for FHA but could be expensive for taxpayers, too. Even if FHA raised premiums to a max of 2.25 percent upfront for all borrowers across the board, it would still need to seek an appropriation to cover the losses caused this practice.
We have issued a regulation to address seller-funded down payments. We are in a comment period right now, and I intend to look hard at those comments. Therefore, I do not want to discuss this matter in great detail. The comments are important to us and we will look at them carefully. But the reason for our efforts to regulate in this area is that FHA-backed mortgages with seller-funded down payments go into foreclosure at three times the rate of FHA's remaining portfolio. Because of a lack of equity, losses on these seller-funded down payment mortgages are significantly greater. We remain solvent and in good shape today. But no insurance company can continue to absorb losses of this magnitude.
At the end of the day, I hope reason will prevail. FHA is more important to the mortgage market now than it has been for many years. FHA's volume and market share continue to grow every month. I hope final legislation from Congress would put forward actions that can keep FHA solvent, self-financing, and responsibly able to help homeowners. Taxpayers should not have to absorb preventable, foreseeable losses.
We are looking for the Congress to pass responsible legislation that will help FHA continue to provide stability for the housing market and provide government-backed mortgages for low-and-moderate income families.
Thank you.
This letter is provided via RSS feed from www.valuation-expert.com
Showing posts with label FHA News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FHA News. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Appraiser Waxhaw, Union, Indian Trail, Monroe, Weddington, NC
HUD Press Release
The Bush Administration today announced additional mortgage assistance for subprime borrowers who are at risk of foreclosure. The plan, which is designed to help address the adverse economic conditions affecting many communities across America, will help break the cycle of house price depreciation that is being caused by an increasing number of foreclosures and the overall contraction in the credit market. Under the new plan, HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would have the added flexibility to insure more mortgages, including those for borrowers who were late on a few payments and/or received a voluntary mortgage principal write-down from their lender.
This FHASecure expansion will help more homeowners who are struggling to keep up with mortgage payments on their high-cost subprime loans. With this expansion of FHASecure, the Administration expects about 500,000 families to refinance into prime-rate FHA-insured mortgages in total by the end of this year.
"Our plan will help hundreds of thousands of desperate families who have no place else to turn for safer, lower cost ways to keep their homes," said Federal Housing Commissioner-Assistant Secretary for Housing Brian D. Montgomery at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. "We want to be able to help families who are in the right house, but the wrong mortgage."
In August 2007, FHA modified its refinancing program to help creditworthy homeowners who missed payments after their teaser rates reset. Now, FHASecure is expanding its eligibility standards. Homeowners who believe they meet this additional eligibility criteria must fall into one of the following categories:
Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages who were late on two consecutive monthly mortgage payments or at two different times over the previous twelve months. FHA will require a 97 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for these borrowers to refinance, the same LTV as FHA's current standard.
Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages who were late on three consecutive monthly mortgage payments or at three different times over the past 12 months. FHA will require a 90 percent LTV ratio for these borrowers to refinance.
With these new criteria, the expanded FHASecure can help additional borrowers access a more viable refinancing option and will offer lenders an alternative to foreclosing on these individuals. Lenders may voluntarily write down the outstanding subprime mortgage principal balances to a 97 percent or 90 percent LTV ratio depending on the borrowers' circumstances. FHA will also encourage lenders to make other arrangements, such as subordinate financing, to "fill the gap" between the existing loan balances and the FHA-insurable loan amount. The refinanced loan amount backed by the FHA would be based upon a new appraisal, performed by an FHA-approved appraiser.
FHA will insure new, more affordable mortgages in exchange for this equity cushion, which will protect FHA's insurance fund, and thus the taxpayer, against risk. Currently, FHA's insurance fund is self-sustaining, meaning that it requires no appropriation of taxpayer dollars because homeowners pay for the product themselves. Further, any new FHASecure loans will continue to meet FHA's no-nonsense underwriting standards. Lenders will be required to ensure borrowers have the capacity to repay their mortgages; show a reasonable credit history; employment history; and fully document and verify their incomes.
Like all FHA-insured loans, borrowers will be required to pay upfront and annual premiums on their loans, which directly contribute to the soundness of FHA's insurance fund and protect taxpayers. FHA will also be simultaneously updating the pricing policy for these premiums. The new policy will base premiums on the individual borrower's credit risk profile. More than 90 percent of FHA-backed loans are 30-year fixed rate mortgages. Homeowners currently using FHASecure are saving $400 a month on average compared to their previous subprime loans.
"More homeowners continue to turn to FHA to find mortgage terms they can afford. We're keeping families in their homes while doing what's in the best interest of future generations who will rely on the safety and soundness of FHA to put a roof over their heads. The modifications to the existing FHASecure product offer a prudent, yet appropriate, way to help more families refinance without putting the government or taxpayers at risk. Consistent with FHA's historical mission, the changes are designed to help FHA provide additional liquidity and stabilize local real estate markets."
Since September 2007, FHA has helped pump nearly $68 billion of much-needed mortgage activity into the housing market, $28.5 billion of which was through FHASecure. FHASecure has helped more than 150,000 homeowners who are current or past due on their loans avoid foreclosure, and, with today's announcement, it is expected to assist 500,000 total families by December 31, 2008.
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. For more information about FHA products, please visit www.fha.gov.
For an FHA approved appraiser in Charlotte, Union, Weddington, Waxhaw, North Carolina, visit
www.valuation-expert.com or www.charlotte-appraiser.net
The Bush Administration today announced additional mortgage assistance for subprime borrowers who are at risk of foreclosure. The plan, which is designed to help address the adverse economic conditions affecting many communities across America, will help break the cycle of house price depreciation that is being caused by an increasing number of foreclosures and the overall contraction in the credit market. Under the new plan, HUD's Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would have the added flexibility to insure more mortgages, including those for borrowers who were late on a few payments and/or received a voluntary mortgage principal write-down from their lender.
This FHASecure expansion will help more homeowners who are struggling to keep up with mortgage payments on their high-cost subprime loans. With this expansion of FHASecure, the Administration expects about 500,000 families to refinance into prime-rate FHA-insured mortgages in total by the end of this year.
"Our plan will help hundreds of thousands of desperate families who have no place else to turn for safer, lower cost ways to keep their homes," said Federal Housing Commissioner-Assistant Secretary for Housing Brian D. Montgomery at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. "We want to be able to help families who are in the right house, but the wrong mortgage."
In August 2007, FHA modified its refinancing program to help creditworthy homeowners who missed payments after their teaser rates reset. Now, FHASecure is expanding its eligibility standards. Homeowners who believe they meet this additional eligibility criteria must fall into one of the following categories:
Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages who were late on two consecutive monthly mortgage payments or at two different times over the previous twelve months. FHA will require a 97 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for these borrowers to refinance, the same LTV as FHA's current standard.
Borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages who were late on three consecutive monthly mortgage payments or at three different times over the past 12 months. FHA will require a 90 percent LTV ratio for these borrowers to refinance.
With these new criteria, the expanded FHASecure can help additional borrowers access a more viable refinancing option and will offer lenders an alternative to foreclosing on these individuals. Lenders may voluntarily write down the outstanding subprime mortgage principal balances to a 97 percent or 90 percent LTV ratio depending on the borrowers' circumstances. FHA will also encourage lenders to make other arrangements, such as subordinate financing, to "fill the gap" between the existing loan balances and the FHA-insurable loan amount. The refinanced loan amount backed by the FHA would be based upon a new appraisal, performed by an FHA-approved appraiser.
FHA will insure new, more affordable mortgages in exchange for this equity cushion, which will protect FHA's insurance fund, and thus the taxpayer, against risk. Currently, FHA's insurance fund is self-sustaining, meaning that it requires no appropriation of taxpayer dollars because homeowners pay for the product themselves. Further, any new FHASecure loans will continue to meet FHA's no-nonsense underwriting standards. Lenders will be required to ensure borrowers have the capacity to repay their mortgages; show a reasonable credit history; employment history; and fully document and verify their incomes.
Like all FHA-insured loans, borrowers will be required to pay upfront and annual premiums on their loans, which directly contribute to the soundness of FHA's insurance fund and protect taxpayers. FHA will also be simultaneously updating the pricing policy for these premiums. The new policy will base premiums on the individual borrower's credit risk profile. More than 90 percent of FHA-backed loans are 30-year fixed rate mortgages. Homeowners currently using FHASecure are saving $400 a month on average compared to their previous subprime loans.
"More homeowners continue to turn to FHA to find mortgage terms they can afford. We're keeping families in their homes while doing what's in the best interest of future generations who will rely on the safety and soundness of FHA to put a roof over their heads. The modifications to the existing FHASecure product offer a prudent, yet appropriate, way to help more families refinance without putting the government or taxpayers at risk. Consistent with FHA's historical mission, the changes are designed to help FHA provide additional liquidity and stabilize local real estate markets."
Since September 2007, FHA has helped pump nearly $68 billion of much-needed mortgage activity into the housing market, $28.5 billion of which was through FHASecure. FHASecure has helped more than 150,000 homeowners who are current or past due on their loans avoid foreclosure, and, with today's announcement, it is expected to assist 500,000 total families by December 31, 2008.
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. For more information about FHA products, please visit www.fha.gov.
For an FHA approved appraiser in Charlotte, Union, Weddington, Waxhaw, North Carolina, visit
www.valuation-expert.com or www.charlotte-appraiser.net
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