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housing bill: FHA Down Payment - 10/12/08 06:26 PM
The FHA down payment requirement was increased from 3% to 3.5% as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act that was passed in July. The legislation was touted as helping restore the housing market by stabilizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to provide foreclosure relief through Hope for Homeowners.
I am not sure either of these two goals were accomplished, but the bill most certainly has made it more difficult for many people to purchase a new home.
The legislation increased the minimum required down payment for an FHA purchase and the bill eliminated the seller funded down payment assistance … (2 comments)

housing bill: FHA Loan to Value guidelines - new down payment amount - 09/11/08 10:05 PM
FHA today released information about the implementation of the higher down payment requirement that was established with the new housing law.
The old down payment was 3%, and allowed certain of the buyer paid closing costs to be used to meet the down payment requirements. In many cases the actual loan to value could be 97.75%, if the buyer paid closing costs in the amount of at least .75% of the sales price.
The new guidelines institute a higher down payment requirement of 3.5% and remove the consideration of buyer paid closing costs.
The maximum loan to value for FHA purchases … (8 comments)

housing bill: FHA Seller funded downpayment may be back - industry and government efforts address HUD concerns - 09/09/08 10:08 PM
It appears that industry and government efforts may succeed in bringing back FHA approved seller funded downpayment assistance. Inman News has published information that negotiations are underway to pass HR 6694 before the October 1 deadline. HR 6694 would reinstate seller funded down payment programs, with additional underwriting guidelines.
Loans closed with a seller funded downpayment use funds from an IRS approved non profit grant to pay the buyer's funds for closing. The seller then reimburses the grant program from their sale proceeds at closing. This transaction is considered by many detractors to be no more that laundering. The real issue over seller funded downpayment assistance programs is the documented … (10 comments)

housing bill: FHA Down Payment Assistance - a meeting with Senator Lamar Alexander's representative - 08/22/08 01:03 PM
The 10 year old access to seller funded down payment assistance for FHA home purchases will end on October 1. This ban was part of the massive and hastily enacted Housing and Recovery Act of 2008. The bill was touted as foreclosure relief and market stabilization in the form of support for the struggling Fannie Mae and FreddieMac. The bill included so much more and the ban on DPA was part of the extras. 
A new bill to reinstate down payment assistance, as well as tiered FHA mortgage insurance premiums which were also stopped in the foreclosure relief bill, was introduced soon after the Housing act … (13 comments)

housing bill: When it comes to HR 3221... - 08/15/08 04:39 PM
The new housing legislation brings many significant changes. Several of my posts have tried to address these changes. Mike Mueller has provided us an explanation of the major points of the changes most important to consumers.
And he has done so in terms that are very understandable.
Thanks Mike.
Via Mike Mueller:
The Media can be misleading.
Yeah I know, no surprise there!But let's talk about HR 3221, H.R. 3221 or if you want to call it by it's really long name, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008It was signed into law Monday July 28th, 2008. It was reported … (8 comments)

housing bill: Seller Funded Downpayment Assistance not done yet? - 08/03/08 07:17 AM
Evidently the final word on seller funded down payment assistance for FHA purchases has not be said. It had surprised me that this week had passed with not word from any of the DPA programs after the Housing Bill had passed Congress and eliminated seller funded DPA.
Friday night I received an email from Ameridream announcing somewhat optimistically "Congress to Reauthorize DownPayment Assistance."
Quote taken from Ameridream email - in italics. Last night, Congress introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 6694 that would reauthorize and reform charitable downpayment assistance. This bill would remedy a harmful provision in the new housing law which limits homeownership … (15 comments)

housing bill: Housing Bill is law - President signs massive housing bill in a quiet ceremony - 07/30/08 07:17 AM
The most sweeping mortgage bill in decades has just been signed in a brief ceremony, "without fanfare". This was reported this morning by NPR.
An measure of how good this bill is can be made by the almost secretive signing ceremony. It was done early in the morning Eastern time.
It sounds good in a news clip.
"stabilizes volatile markets"
"relief for struggling homeowners"
"lifeline to troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac'
I really think if it did all this well there would have been much more emphasis to the bill signing. I think our boys and girls in Washington … (22 comments)

housing bill: First time buyer credit - Housing Bill provides a tax credit for First Time Home Buyers - 07/29/08 12:31 PM
The $7500 tax credit for first time home buyers is a significant incentive to purchase. It is a major positive provision in the Housing Bill that passed Congress over this past weekend. This is a credit not a deduction, which means it directly reduces the taxes owed - dollar for dollar.
This gives the new home owner directly as much as $7500 cash in the pocket at tax refund time.
The credit incentive is retroactive back to April 9, 2008 and continues through June 30, 2009. The incentive is 10% of the purchase price up to a maximum of $7500.
The … (13 comments)

housing bill: HUD on Housing Bill - Not real happy? - 07/28/08 03:06 PM
HUD Secretary Steve Preston in a press release hints that the Housing Bill will force FHA to "increase prices on all customers or eliminate its refinancing program for subprime borrowers at a time when they need it the most. "
The press release regarding FHA provisions in the Housing Bill is available on HUD's website. The release is dated July 23, but I have not found any updated releases on the website. It seems to me that HUD received most of their requests with the Housing Bill.
Certainly they were able to ban Down Payment Assistance. They increased the minimum investment requirement from … (16 comments)

housing bill: Originator registration and education - Housing Bill establishes national loan officer registry - 07/28/08 12:41 AM
Another feature of the Housing Bill is establishing a national registration for mortgage loan originators. Tennessee has required licensing for originators for the last couple years, and is now in the process of implementing continuing education requirements.
According to the housing bill summary, this legislations "establishes a nationwide loan originator licensing and registration system that will set minimum standards for loan originator licensing substantially improving the oversight of mortgage brokers and bank loan officers."
It will be interesting to see how this registration system works and how much the national licensing will cost. Also, it will be interesting to see what the … (0 comments)

housing bill: Are lenders really villains? - justifying the Housing Bill - 07/27/08 10:25 PM
Representative Maxine Waters, D-Ca, was interviewed by Fox TV Friday concerning the Housing Bill. In that interview she repeatedly referred to lenders as villains, who lured unsuspecting people into traps. I guess the villainous plot was to foreclose and kick the unwitting victims out of their homes.
The immediate focus of these remarks was Countrywide, for the moment the kick 'em while they are down target. I am not a fan of Countrywide, but they are not villains because they offered neg am loans or subprime stated loans or even hybrid ARMS with prepayment penalties. There may be villains affiliated with Countrywide, … (0 comments)

housing bill: Housing Bill Local Impact - FHA changes - 07/27/08 06:59 PM
The local and national impacts of the new Housing Bill are significant and long term. The provisions of the bill will take some time to sort through. The bill was approved by the House earlier last week and by the Senate yesterday, after the President indicated on Thursday that he would sign the bill.
The circumstances of recent mortgage and financial market crisis events forced quick passage of some response, and this bill was already in place.
The Housing Bill brings many changes to the national and local real estate markets. The headline changes focus on foreclosure relief, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support … (17 comments)

housing bill: Bad mortgages first cause or first sign? - Reserve Board's new home loan policy - 07/15/08 10:41 PM
Mortgage defaults and rising foreclosures are among many troubling headlines in our economy, but can subprime lending problems really be the cause behind all these trends.
Amidst the clamor over mortgage and world financial markets, IndyMac failing, Fannie and Freddie woes, GMC layoffs, and the debate on the housing bill, the Federal Reserve Board approved the final rule for home mortgage regulations.
The final rule establishes a category of high priced loans and offers consumer protection for loans in that category.
•1.       Must base lending decision on borrower income and assets
•2.       Income and assets used to qualify must be documented
… (6 comments)

 
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Richard Smith FHA VA Rural Development in TN GA

Chattanooga, TN

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