Tag Archives: HUD

In an effort to eliminate discrimination within the HUD and DOT programs and raise awareness during pride month in June, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (D-California) proposed an amendment on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives requesting non-discrimination provisions and LGBT equality in federal housing and transportation programs

The Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs recently reported that First Tennessee Bank N.A., headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, has agreed to pay $212.5 million to resolve allegations of its violation of the False Claims Act that stems from Federal Housing Administration-insured (FHA) mortgage lending. Allegedly, First Tennessee Bank knowingly originated and underwrote mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) FHA that did not meet applicable requirements, the Justice Department reported.

According to jointly released estimates by HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of new single-family houses in April 2015 increased 6.8 percent from last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000 units. The March rate was 484,000 units and is 26.1 percent above the estimate of 410,000 for April 2014.

HUD recently released a notice requesting public comment on proposed revisions to the Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application, also known as the 92900-A. This is the loan certification document signed by lenders.

In a joint announcement, the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD revealed new residential construction statistics for April 2015. This announcement included pertinent information on building permits, housing starts, and housing completions.

The Senator contends in his letter that only Congress can create government officers and that Congress has not given HUD the power to bestow an assistant secretary's responsibility onto a principal deputy assistant secretary. Grassley pointed out in his letter that Congress passed the Vacancies Reform Act in 1998 that provided several mechanisms to fill vacancies in government offices, and "[c]reating new job titles is not among the allowable mechanisms listed."

The government alleges that Quicken had a "value appeal" process in place where Quicken would request an inflated value for a home appraisal if the appraisal was too low to approve for a loan, and that the lender granted "management exceptions" in which managers would allow underwriters to break the rules to approve a loan. According to the complaint, Quicken's most senior executives were aware of these practices based on several emails.

The report also reveals that the median sales price of homes sold in March was $277,000, while the average price was $343,000. Additionally, by the end of March, the number of new homes on the market was 213,000. At the current sales rate, this supply should last approximately 5.3 months. Results of the report are gathered through sample surveys, and the majority of houses are chosen randomly from selected building permits. Census field representatives collect the data, visit permit offices, and track when single-family units are started, completed and sold.

Quicken, the largest lender of Federal Housing Administration mortgage loans in the country, filed its suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, claiming the agencies have been trying to bully the company into making “blatantly false” statements and demanding the company pay “an inexplicable penalty or face legal action,” according to a statement released by Quicken Friday.

Wednesday’s update spells out how lenders are to provide mortgage applicants with homeownership lists of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, homeownership counseling lists, the use of a consumer’s mailing address to provide the list, and high-cost mortgage counseling qualifications.