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  • HUD sued for allegedly failing to refund mortgage insurance premiums for early-terminated FHA-insured mortgages

    Courts

    On March 12, a putative class action complaint was filed against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for allegedly denying homeowners their Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) refunds upon the early termination of their FHA-insured mortgages. According to the complaint, HUD must refund unearned MIPs, but has refused to refund homeowners by creating “unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.” The plaintiffs alleged that the OIG had confirmed “the validity of complaints regarding HUD’s handling of MIP refunds.”

    Citing HUD regulations, the plaintiffs alleged that when an FHA mortgage is terminated early, within seven years of the purchase of the refinancing of the property, there is an overpayment of the MIP which should be refunded by HUD. According to the plaintiffs it is a “widespread practice” for HUD not to automatically refund MIPs, but instead require a burdensome, lengthy process which hindered the prompt refund of fees in multiple ways. The 2022 OIG report cited by plaintiffs allegedly found, among other things, that HUD did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that refunds were appropriately tracked, monitored, and issued. The plaintiffs alleged that Floridians are owed over $21.7 million in refunds.

    The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive and declaratory relief and a return of all unfairly retained refunds “together with damages in the amount of the total earned interest and other investment monies accrued by Defendant with Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ monies.” 

    Courts Federal Issues HUD Class Action OIG FHA

  • FHLBanks’ net income skyrockets in 2023 due to high volume of advances

    Federal Issues

    Recently, the FHFA released its annual combined operating highlights for 2023 which were prepared from the unaudited financial statements of the Federal Home Loan Bank system (FHLBank). Administered by the FHFA, the FHLBank system was created to provide lending institutions with liquidity. In 2023, FHLBanks' annual net income grew from $3.16 billion to $6.69 billion—a 111 percent increase—while advances increased from $13.2 billion to $48.5 billion, representing a 266 percent increase. This change in pace was due in part to the stresses placed on banking and financial markets in March 2023. The operating highlights follow FHFA’s comprehensive report on the FHLBank system published in late 2023, previously covered by InfoBytes here. More information on the FHFA’s operating statements can be found in its 8-K filing with the SEC.

    Federal Issues FHA FHLB

  • HUD Secretary Fudge confirms interest in eliminating Mortgage Interest Premiums

    Federal Issues

    On January 11, the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge, testified at the House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Oversight of HUD and the FHA. Topics included qualification for housing programs by veterans, HUD efforts to support more affordable housing, and oversight of public housing authorities, among other things.

    Secretary Fudge addressed the possibility of eliminating the Mortgage Insurance Premiums (MIP) from Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages. Specifically, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) asked Secretary Fudge whether she would be willing to eliminate MIPs, to which Secretary Fudge replied “Yes, I’m willing to look at it.” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) asked whether FHA insurance could follow the same model as private mortgage insurance, where the product is terminated after a certain amount of payment on the principal of the loan.  In response, the Secretary replied positively with “I would love to see it happen.”

    Federal Issues HUD FHA House Oversight Committee House Financial Services Committee Mortgages Mortgage Insurance Premiums

  • Fannie Mae releases notice on loan limit changes

    Federal Issues

    On January 3, Fannie Mae updated its mortgage loan underwriting system, Desktop Underwriter (DU), to support changes made to FHA and VA loan limits. The update will take place during the weekend of January 20. For FHA loan casefiles submitted before the weekend of January 20, the FHA National Low Cost Area Limit amounts will be updated in DU to reflect the new values. For FHA loan casefiles submitted on or after the weekend of January 20, DU will display the 2024 FHA National Low Cost Area Limit. Fannie Mae notes that lenders are responsible for verifying the correct information when determining eligibility. For VA 2024 county loan limits, cases submitted before the weekend of January 20 will be underwritten using the 2023 VA county loan limits. All case files submitted on or after the weekend of January 20 will be underwritten using the 2024 VA county loan limits. Fannie Mae notes since the “2024 VA county loan limits will not be implemented on the date they are in effect[;] lenders are responsible for ensuring that the correct VA county loan limit is applied to all VA loans underwritten through DU from Jan. 1 to Jan. 20.”

    Federal Issues FHA Department of Veterans Affairs Loans

  • HUD increases inspection fee limits for single-family homes

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On November 15, HUD increased its fee limits for property inspections for single-family homes.  HUD requires federal mortgage holders to perform property inspections to determine “occupancy status, ascertain property condition and to maintain property preservation.” For example, according to the Mortgage Letter, the cost for an initial occupancy inspection increased from $20 to $30, with the cost per additional unit increased from $15 to $20, to “align with industry standards,” as found in the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing Sarah Edelman called this the “first step in updating our policies governing property and preservation fees,” and will help prevent blight from poorly maintained homes.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance HUD FHA Affordable Housing

  • HUD seeks comments on update to HECM policy

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On November 9, FHA posted a proposed update to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) policy. According to FHA, the proposal “enables certain categories of… HECMs that were previously ineligible for assignment to be assigned to HUD… This change will support servicer liquidity and strengthen the HECM market for senior homeowners.” Under current HECM policy, mortgage servicers can assign a HECM to HUD “when the mortgage reaches 98 percent of the Maximum Claim Amount and… an eligible borrower or non-borrowing spouse is residing in the property.”

    The draft mortgage letter “proposes to expand the assignment eligibility criteria to include HECMs that are due and payable resulting from the death of all borrowers and non-borrowing spouses.” A redline of the proposed language of the updated HECM Assignment Eligibility can be found here. FHA seeks comments on its proposal through December 11, 2023, using the Feedback Response Worksheet download here, and can be sent to sffeedback@hud.gov.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance HUD FHA HECM

  • FHA updates guidance on sales comparison grid for manufactured homes

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On November 2, the FHA released a mortgage letter (ML) updating the sales comparison approach for manufactured homes. The update to the FHA’s rule affects how real estate appraisers will now appraise manufactured homes using the sales comparison approach (SCA) grid. The SCA is the mix of attributes in a home that determine its value (e.g., floor area, features, location, number of bathrooms, lot size, etc.). A manufactured home is a home unit constructed entirely off-site and then shipped on-site. According to the FHA’s ML, this letter “updates the exception in the Sales Comparison Approach for Manufactured Housing (II.D.5.k) section of the Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1” by aligning the “FHA[’s] insurance guidelines with the requirements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs.”

    HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge spoke on this change, stating “[t]he critical step we're taking today ensures HUD is in alignment with our industry partners, and it will make more quality affordable housing available to people across the country.”

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Issues HUD FHA Fannie Mae Freddie Mac

  • NY AG report reveals racial disparities in homeownership and offers proposed solutions

    State Issues

    On October 31, New York AG Letitia James released a report detailing racial disparities in homeownership and access to home financing in New York. The report states that Black and Latino New Yorkers are “underrepresented” among mortgage applicants, and white households are overall more likely to own homes than Black, Latino, or Asian households. The report also found that regardless of credit score, income, size of the loan and other factors, all applicants of color are denied mortgages at a higher rate than white applicants. In addition, the report found that disparities between white borrowers and borrowers of color persist in the context of refinance transactions and are also present in loans made by “[n]ew private-sector, non-depository lenders.”

    The report identified policy solutions that could reduce these disparities, including (i) subsidizing down payments and interest rates for first-generation homebuyers; (ii) increasing state funding for nonprofit financial institutions that support underserved communities of color; (iii) passing the New York Public Banking Act, which would create a regulatory framework for the establishment of public banks, thereby expanding access to affordable financial services in underserved areas; (iv) bolstering resources for government agencies to conduct fair lending investigations and enhancing New York’s Human Rights Law to explicitly prohibit discriminatory lending practices; and (v) exploring options for offering state-provided banking services in accessible locations to increase access to traditional banking services.

    State Issues New York State Attorney General Fair Lending Consumer Finance Lending FHA Refinance Racial Bias

  • FHA proposes updates to HECM program

    Federal Issues

    On November 1, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) proposed updates to FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program that are intended to address a number of servicing issues where existing program requirements have conflicted with HUD’s policy objectives.  FHA is requesting public feedback. Key changes include the following:

    • Allowing mortgage servicers to contact borrowers by phone to verify occupancy for the program’s required annual occupancy certification;
    • Allowing outstanding homeowner’s association dues to be included in the calculation of a repayment plan for borrowers who are behind on their HECM financial obligations;
    • Expanding the ability of mortgage servicers to work with borrowers who are behind on their property tax or hazard insurance by an amount up to $5,000 without calling the mortgage due and payable;
    • Allowing mortgage servicers to assign a HECM to HUD after the servicer has funded a cure for a borrower’s delinquent financial obligations so long as the borrower has made all property charge payments for one year and all other assignment eligibility criteria are met;
    • Streamlining requirements for executing alternatives to foreclosure and updating existing incentive payments for successful completion of loss mitigation options; and
    • Providing a new incentive payment to mortgage servicers for completing these alternatives.

    Federal Issues FHA Consumer Finance Home Equity Loans Mortgage Servicing HECM HUD

  • FHA announces update and consolidation of the HECM program

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance

    On October 31, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced, after a multi-year effort, the inclusion of policies for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program in the Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. The FHA indicated this is the first time that all HECM program requirements will be available in a single place. According to the FHA, consolidating these programs eliminates more than one hundred individual policy documents and assist with strengthening the understanding and implementation of the HECM by lenders. New sections include Section II.B covering FHA policy for the origination through post-closing and endorsement of HECMs; and Section III.B, covering FHA policy for the servicing of HECMs and loss mitigation options to assist HECM borrowers who are behind on their HECM obligations. Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon stated that the “completion of the HECM sections of our Single Family Handbook reinforces FHA’s commitment to the HECM program and is part of a larger effort to retool the program for long-term success.” The FHA also updated model documents, frequently asked questions, and training and expects the online version to be available soon.

    Agency Rule-Making & Guidance Federal Issues FHA HECM Mortgages Consumer Finance

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