Both the Senate and House voted yesterday to extend the current higher loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loans through December, 2010. The resolution was attached to a continuing resolution that passed late in the day and prevented the higher limits from expiring at the end of the year.

Lawmakers had temporarily raised the loan limits back in 2008 as part of the Housing and Economic Act of 2008 and then again in 2009 through both a HUD mandated guideline and the Economic Stimulus Act up to a maximum of $729,750 for high-cost areas.

To find your individual counties higher loan limits, you can read our blog post at 2009 FHA and Conforming Loan Limit Changes.

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Tags: FHA, HUD, legislature, mortgages

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced yesterday they are adopting a new Cash for Keys program whereby lenders will pay borrowers with FHA-backed loans $2,000 for agreeing to turn their property over to the lender by using a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. By applying for and getting an approved deed-in-lieu under this program, borrowers will be released from their obligation to repay the mortgage and may also have their deficiency judgment waived too.

To qualify for the program, borrowers must be facing long-term financial hardship, had their house on the market at a fair price for at least 90 days, and not have any other additional claims or liens (other than the first FHA mortgage) outstanding against the house. In addition, the borrower must vacate the property and leave it in broom clean condition.

Tags: FHA, foreclosures, HUD, mortgages

We wrote a blog post a while back about how if you are purchasing a condo in Florida, mortgage financing is tougher than ever before. Well, it just got even harder to get condo financing, thanks to a new rule set to take effect on November 1, 2009.

The new rule will put an end to “spot approvals” for condo complexes and thus make it harder for buyers to qualify for these types of property loans. The rule disallows FHA underwriter’s ability to approve individual condo units rather than an entire condo complex. The reason spot approvals were originally granted was because of the costs and paperwork involved for a condominium association to get an entire complex approved by the FHA is outrageous, costing tens of thousands of dollars for things like appraisals, structural engineering reports, audited financial reports etc. Spot approvals only required a condo or HOA representative to spend about 15 minutes filling out a one page questionaire.

Tags: FHA, Florida, HUD, mortgages

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan limits for single-family homes set to begin January 1, 2009. The change was required under the guidelines set forth in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.The Act sets the national conforming mortgage loan limit to a house price index chosen by the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). For 2009, the national conforming mortgage loan limit will remain at the current level of $417,000. It also requires that FHA mortgage loan limits to be set at 115% of the median house price in a given area with a floor of 65% and a ceiling of 150% of the national conforming mortgage loan limit.

Tags: FHA, HUD, mortgages

HUD has announced a 30-day extension, to June 12, 2008, for the public to comment on the proposed new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) rule. The announcement came just days before the initial comment period was set to end and on the heels of a letter HUD received signed by 149 members of Congress.

The Congressional letter referenced the extensive nature of the RESPA reform proposal and the fact that some aspects of the proposed changes had not previously been the subject of public comment. In addition, the letter stated that further analysis was needed on the proposed rule’s interaction with state and federal laws and regulations including the Federal Reserve Board’s recent proposal to amend its Truth in Lending Act regulations.

Tags: HUD, legislature, mortgages, RESPA