Tag Archives: FHA

A day after the White House announced plans to cut the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mortgage insurance premium by 50 basis points, politicians and commentators are still wrestling with the reduction's potential impact on the housing market, the mortgage insurance industry, and the agency itself.

The White House announced Wednesday that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce mortgage insurance premiums in an effort to boost U.S. homeownership. The announcement is welcome news to many of housing's biggest trade organizations, who have been vocal in the past few months about the consequences of higher premiums.

Southfield, Michigan-based lender GTL Investments, Inc., recently agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle claims regarding the origination of federally-backed mortgage loans that were not properly underwritten, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade.

The Great Neck, New York-based Golden First agreed to pay $36 million to settle a complaint originally filed by the United States in April 2013 and amended in August 2013. In the complaint, the government accuses Golden First of violating the False Claims Act through years of misconduct relating to the mortgage company's participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)'s Direct Endorsement Lender Program.

A $1.1 trillion congressional spending bill proposed this week may avoid another government shutdown, but officials at the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) are less than impressed at the absence of funds for certain agency initiatives. "We are deeply disappointed programs that could have served millions of families will not be permitted under the bill," said Acting FHA Commissioner Biniam Gebre in a statement Thursday.

In a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee's subcommittee on housing, Mabel Guzman, 2014 chair of the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Conventional Finance and Lending Committee, highlighted some of the biggest challenges constraining homeownership.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday it will leave loan limits unchanged for the highest- and lowest-cost housing markets in 2015. For most high-cost housing markets, the maximum allowable amount for an FHA loan will stay at $625,000, a threshold first set at the start of this year.

The American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) National Mortgage Risk Index for home purchase loans stood at 11.4 percent in October, little changed from the previous three-month average but nearly 1 percentage point above its year-ago level, the group said Monday.

According to a report from Bloomberg, lawyers for both sides told a judge on Tuesday they’re doubtful about the chances of reaching an agreement on a suit alleging the bank fraudulently submitted loans for insurance through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a seasonally adjusted increase of 4.9 percent in mortgage applications for the week ending November 14. The figure also includes an adjustment for the Veterans Day bank holiday. The jump accompanied a slight dip in interest rates, which fell to an average 4.18 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.