The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) plans to impose significant restrictions on the amount of money that sellers can contribute at closing in the near future. The FHA also will be raising its mortgage insurance premiums during the coming weeks, increasing charges for new purchases across the board. Making [...]
Largest False Claims Act Settlement Relating to Mortgage Fraud As part of the global resolution between the United States of America and the five largest mortgage servicing banks in the country, which will bring much needed relief to financially distressed homeowners nationwide, Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for [...]
In anticipation of the expiration of current loan limits on Sept. 30, 2011, Bank of America has decided to stop accepting conventional and government applications for loan amounts that will exceed the permanent loan amounts. The deadline to submit loan applications was July 1. According to an email from Bank of America, conventional loans [...]
Beginning Aug. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will extend the period for unemployed homeowners to miss mortgage payments from four months to a full year, providing qualified homeowners with more time to find employment before the foreclosure process begins. Making sense of the story The new Special Forbearance program falls under the FHA’s Loss [...]
Foreclosure properties, especially those with the water and power turned off, may not qualify for standard financing, but would-be owner-occupants may qualify for a federally insured 203(k) loan. Would-be owner-occupants who do not have enough money to purchase a foreclosure home using cash, may qualify for the federally insured 203(k) loan, which allows borrowers [...]
The United States has filed a civil mortgage fraud lawsuit against Deutsche Bank AG and its wholly owned subsidiary, MortgageIT Inc. The government’s complaint seeks damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for repeated false certifications made to the U.S. According to the government’s complaint filed May 3, 2011 in Manhattan federal court: [...]
On Tuesday, U.S. bank regulators submitted a proposal that would require lenders to originate mortgages with at least a 20 percent down payment if they want to repackage the loan to sell to other investors without keeping some of the risk on their books. The bank regulators say this would create strong incentives for responsible [...]
Loans funded by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) account for a significant percentage of new mortgages, and with many of today’s buyers only able to purchase a home with an FHA loan, it is essential that REALTORS® understand which condominium and townhome properties are eligible for FHA loans. Eligibility Check provides members with the only [...]
Home buyers thinking of purchasing a distressed property in need of repair, but who are concerned that the cost of the repairs could drain their savings account may qualify for the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) 203(k) rehabilitation program. MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS The FHA’s 203(k) rehabilitation program provides loans for covering renovation [...]
Fannie Mae today announced it is updating several policies impacting the future eligibility of borrowers to obtain a new mortgage loan after experiencing a preforeclosure event, including a preforeclosure sale, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Among the changes is the amount of time that must elapse after the preforeclosure event before a borrower is [...]
