Last week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published Mortgagee Letter 2008-12 to permit counseling agencies to charge seniors a fee for counseling services. HUD said the counseling fee should be reasonable and customary for the service provided and not exceed $125.  The payment of the fee can be paid using one of […]

Last week NRMLA announced that the Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) planed to bring “The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Act” to the House floor for a vote.  NRMLA said the plan was a “rollup” piece of legislation that includes a number of housing related matters, including FHA Modernization.
The legislation includes the recent […]

At the end of March HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2008-8 to provide guidance to lenders who are offering the HECM fixed product.  There was confusion on the product which lead to most lenders requiring 100% of funds to be withdrawn at closing.  Some lenders would allow a line of credit but the rate was […]