Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase-Acceptable Monetary Investment Funding Sources and Interested Party Contributions, 32455-32456 [2024-08819]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 82 / Friday, April 26, 2024 / Notices
limited, or seasonal units that do not
have sufficient personnel to respond,
operations will be temporarily paused
as resources are moved to higher
priority areas. These adjustments will
remain in effect until the Coast Guard
has sufficient personnel to reconstitute
these units.
DATES: Written comments and related
material may be submitted to the Coast
Guard personnel specified below. Your
comments and related material must
reach the Coast Guard on or before May
24, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by docket number USCG–
2024–0281 using the Federal
rulemaking portal at https://
www.regulations.gov. See the ‘‘Public
Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
further instructions on submitting
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information about this document, please
email Kiesha Miller (202–372–4632) at
SMB-COMDT-TempOpsAdjust@
uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Table of Abbreviations
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
GAO Government Accountability Office
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
II. Background and Purpose
The Coast Guard continues to
experience recruiting challenges,
leading to workforce shortages
impacting frontline operations and
Service readiness. Personnel in
impacted areas are largely boat
operators and engineers, who form the
bedrock of Coast Guard operations. The
Coast Guard is proactively adjusting
operations and prioritizing personnel
assignments to specific operational
units to ensure the Service remains
always ready to serve the American
public. This notice meets the
requirements for 14 U.S.C. 910.
III. Discussion
The following units will transition for
use as a forward operating location (i.e.,
a staging area at unit commander
discretion): Stations-Small Scituate,
MA; East Moriches, NY; Great Egg, NJ;
Beach Haven, NJ; Townsends Inlet, NJ;
Stillpond, MD; Fortescue, NJ; Sodus
Point, NY; Ashtabula, OH; Lorain, OH;
Harbor Beach, MI; Muskegon, MI;
Alpena, MI; Frankfort, MI; Ludington,
MI; DuSable Harbor, IL; Wilmette
Harbor, IL; Two Rivers, WI; Washington
Island, WI; Green Bay, WI; Santa Cruz,
CA; Coquille River, OR; and Rogue
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:31 Apr 25, 2024
Jkt 262001
River, OR. These units already
consolidate for some portion of the year.
The following units currently do not
maintain a duty crew to conduct
response operations, and will
temporarily pause boat operations
altogether: Stations Paducah, KY;
Pittsburgh, PA; St. Louis, MO;
Louisville; KY, and Memphis; TN and
boat operations in Huntington, WV.
IV. Public Participation and Request for
Comments
We encourage you to submit
comments through the Federal portal at
https://www.regulations.gov. If your
material cannot be submitted using
https://www.regulations.gov, contact the
person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this document for
alternate instructions. In your
submission, please include the docket
number for this notice and provide a
reason for each suggestion or
recommendation. We will review all
comments received, but we may choose
not to post off-topic, inappropriate, or
duplicate comments that we receive.
We accept anonymous comments.
Comments we post to https://
www.regulations.gov will include any
personal information you have
provided. For more about privacy and
submissions in response to this
document, see DHS’s eRulemaking
System of Records notice (85 FR 14226,
March 11, 2020).
Jason C. Aleksak,
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Chief, Office of
Boat Forces.
[FR Doc. 2024–08978 Filed 4–25–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–04–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–6382–N–02]
Federal Housing Administration (FHA):
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage
(HECM) for Purchase-Acceptable
Monetary Investment Funding Sources
and Interested Party Contributions
Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing
Commissioner, Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
On October 24, 2023, HUD
published a Federal Register notice
(October FR Notice) announcing and
seeking public comment on changes to
the Federal Housing Administration’s
(FHA) Home Equity Conversion
Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase
Program—Acceptable Monetary
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
32455
Investment Funding Sources and
Interested Party Contributions
requirements. The proposed changes
from HUD’s October FR Notice were
included in an update to HUD’s Single
Family Housing Policy Handbook,
which was published October 31, 2023,
and becomes effective on April 29,
2024. After consideration of the public
comments received in response to the
notice of the proposed changes, FHA
has decided not to implement some of
the changes proposed in the October FR
Notice at this time. HUD will publish a
Mortgagee Letter or update the Single
Family Housing Policy Handbook to
align HUD’s policy with this Federal
Register notice. All other changes
previously included in the Handbook
will go into effect on April 29, 2024, as
planned.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Faux, Director, Office of Single
Family Program Development, Office of
Housing, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW,
Room 9266, Washington, DC 20410–
9000, telephone number 202–402–2378
(this is not a toll-free number); email
address sffeedback@hud.gov. HUD
welcomes and is prepared to receive
calls from individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing, as well as individuals
with speech or communication
disabilities. To learn more about how to
make an accessible telephone call,
please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/
consumers/guides/telecommunicationsrelay-service-trs.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comments in Response to
HUD’s October Federal Register Notice
HUD’s regulations at 24 CFR
206.44(b)(4) and 206.44(c)(2) provide
the FHA Commissioner authority to
permit additional funding sources for a
borrower’s monetary investment and
interested party contributions for HECM
for Purchase transactions through notice
in the Federal Register. HUD relied on
these authorities in making the
proposed changes described in HUD’s
October FR Notice published on October
24, 2023, at 88 FR 73040. The changes
proposed in that October FR Notice also
were prospectively included in an
update to HUD’s Single Family Housing
Policy Handbook, published October 31,
2023, and becoming effective on April
29, 2024.
FHA received two public comments
in response to the October FR Notice.
One commenter was broadly supportive
of the proposed changes to the HECM
for Purchase program. The commenter
supported HUD’s effort to align the
HECM for Purchase program with FHA’s
E:\FR\FM\26APN1.SGM
26APN1
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
32456
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 82 / Friday, April 26, 2024 / Notices
forward mortgage programs by
permitting the interested party
contributions explained in HUD’s
October FR Notice up to six percent of
the sales price. The commenter stated
that these changes would help more
seniors qualify for and receive the
benefits of the HECM for Purchase
program, especially in downsizing or
otherwise changing the size of their
current homes before and during
retirement. The commenter concluded
that the changes would improve and
strengthen seniors’ financial status.
The other commenter raised
significant concerns about allowing
HECM for Purchase borrowers to use
lender credits, including premium
pricing, to satisfy the monetary
investment requirement for a HECM for
Purchase. The commenter noted that,
because HECMs are negative
amortization loans where the loan
balance increases over time and interest
costs are added to the loan balance each
month, accepting a higher interest rate
in return for a credit at closing would
be very costly for the borrower. The use
of premium pricing may result in HECM
for Purchase borrowers being steered
into more expensive products that do
not meet their long-term financial
needs.
The commenter further noted that
HECM for Purchase borrowers are not
likely to understand the true, long-term
cost of the higher interest rate nor are
they likely to receive a credit at closing
that will fully compensate them for
paying the higher interest rate because
the termination date of a HECM loan is
unknown at the time of origination, so
the cost calculation can only be an
estimate. Additionally, in light of recent
enforcement actions by state authorities
against mortgage lenders in the forward
mortgage market that failed to refund
surplus lender credits to borrowers, the
commenter also raised concerns that
HECM for Purchase borrowers may not
receive the full benefit of premium
pricing credits.
Finally, the commenter disagreed that
FHA should allow mortgagees and
third-party originators (TPOs) to
contribute to closing costs. The
commenter noted that allowing
mortgagees and TPOs to contribute
toward closing costs would increase the
chances of undue influence, fraud, and
unaffordable loans for HECM for
Purchase borrowers.
II. This Notice
HUD has carefully considered the
comments received and has determined
that the potential harms to borrowers
are significant enough that it would be
imprudent to make these changes at this
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:31 Apr 25, 2024
Jkt 262001
time. Thus, pursuant to the
abovementioned authorities, HUD will
remove the following changes from
HUD’s Single Family Housing Policy
Handbook 4000.1: (1) permitting
premium pricing as an additional
funding source used to satisfy a HECM
for Purchase borrower’s monetary
investment; (2) including discount
points in the definition of ‘‘interested
party contribution’’; (3) permitting
interested party payment for permanent
and temporary interest rate buydowns
as an interested party contribution; (4)
allowing mortgagees and third parties to
make any interested party contributions;
and (5) allowing discount points and
interest rate buydowns as permissible
closing costs for HECM for Purchase
transactions. Removing these changes
means that the use of premium pricing
to help satisfy the borrower’s monetary
investment and including discount
points and permanent and temporary
interest rate buydowns as interested
party contributions for a HECM for
Purchase will not be permissible, that
mortgagees and third party originators
(TPOs) will be prohibited from making
interested party contributions, and that
discount points and interest rate
buydowns as permissible closing costs
will not be allowed after the effective
date of HUD’s Mortgagee Letter or
update to the Single Family Housing
Policy Handbook.
Julia R. Gordon,
Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal
Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2024–08819 Filed 4–25–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2024–0063;
FXIA16710900000–245–FF09A30000]
Foreign Endangered Species; Receipt
of Permit Application
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of permit
application; request for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, invite the public to
comment on an application to conduct
certain activities with a foreign species
that is listed as endangered under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). With
some exceptions, the ESA prohibits
activities with listed species unless
Federal authorization is issued that
allows such activity. The ESA also
requires that we invite public comment
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00066
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
before issuing permits for any activity
otherwise prohibited by the ESA with
respect to any endangered species.
DATES: We must receive comments by
May 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The
application, application supporting
materials, and any comments and other
materials that we receive will be
available for public inspection at
https://www.regulations.gov in Docket
No. FWS–HQ–IA–2024–0063.
Submitting Comments: When
submitting comments, please specify the
name of the applicant and the permit
number at the beginning of your
comment. You may submit comments
by one of the following methods:
• Internet: https://
www.regulations.gov. Search for and
submit comments on Docket No. FWS–
HQ–IA–2024–0063.
• U.S. mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–HQ–
IA–2024–0063; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Headquarters, MS: PRB/3W;
5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA
22041–3803.
For more information, see Public
Comment Procedures under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda Tapia, by phone at 703–358–
2185 or via email at DMAFR@fws.gov.
Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comment Procedures
A. How do I comment on submitted
applications?
We invite the public and local, State,
Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment
on this application. Before issuing the
requested permit, we will take into
consideration any information that we
receive during the public comment
period.
You may submit your comments and
materials by one of the methods in
ADDRESSES. We will not consider
comments sent by email or to an address
not in ADDRESSES. We will not consider
or include in our administrative record
comments we receive after the close of
the comment period (see DATES).
When submitting comments, please
specify the name of the applicant and
the permit number at the beginning of
E:\FR\FM\26APN1.SGM
26APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 82 (Friday, April 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32455-32456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08819]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-6382-N-02]
Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Home Equity Conversion
Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase-Acceptable Monetary Investment Funding
Sources and Interested Party Contributions
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing
Commissioner, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On October 24, 2023, HUD published a Federal Register notice
(October FR Notice) announcing and seeking public comment on changes to
the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Home Equity Conversion
Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase Program--Acceptable Monetary Investment
Funding Sources and Interested Party Contributions requirements. The
proposed changes from HUD's October FR Notice were included in an
update to HUD's Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, which was
published October 31, 2023, and becomes effective on April 29, 2024.
After consideration of the public comments received in response to the
notice of the proposed changes, FHA has decided not to implement some
of the changes proposed in the October FR Notice at this time. HUD will
publish a Mortgagee Letter or update the Single Family Housing Policy
Handbook to align HUD's policy with this Federal Register notice. All
other changes previously included in the Handbook will go into effect
on April 29, 2024, as planned.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Faux, Director, Office of Single
Family Program Development, Office of Housing, Department of Housing
and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 9266, Washington, DC
20410-9000, telephone number 202-402-2378 (this is not a toll-free
number); email address [email protected]. HUD welcomes and is prepared
to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as
well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn
more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit:
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Comments in Response to HUD's October Federal Register Notice
HUD's regulations at 24 CFR 206.44(b)(4) and 206.44(c)(2) provide
the FHA Commissioner authority to permit additional funding sources for
a borrower's monetary investment and interested party contributions for
HECM for Purchase transactions through notice in the Federal Register.
HUD relied on these authorities in making the proposed changes
described in HUD's October FR Notice published on October 24, 2023, at
88 FR 73040. The changes proposed in that October FR Notice also were
prospectively included in an update to HUD's Single Family Housing
Policy Handbook, published October 31, 2023, and becoming effective on
April 29, 2024.
FHA received two public comments in response to the October FR
Notice. One commenter was broadly supportive of the proposed changes to
the HECM for Purchase program. The commenter supported HUD's effort to
align the HECM for Purchase program with FHA's
[[Page 32456]]
forward mortgage programs by permitting the interested party
contributions explained in HUD's October FR Notice up to six percent of
the sales price. The commenter stated that these changes would help
more seniors qualify for and receive the benefits of the HECM for
Purchase program, especially in downsizing or otherwise changing the
size of their current homes before and during retirement. The commenter
concluded that the changes would improve and strengthen seniors'
financial status.
The other commenter raised significant concerns about allowing HECM
for Purchase borrowers to use lender credits, including premium
pricing, to satisfy the monetary investment requirement for a HECM for
Purchase. The commenter noted that, because HECMs are negative
amortization loans where the loan balance increases over time and
interest costs are added to the loan balance each month, accepting a
higher interest rate in return for a credit at closing would be very
costly for the borrower. The use of premium pricing may result in HECM
for Purchase borrowers being steered into more expensive products that
do not meet their long-term financial needs.
The commenter further noted that HECM for Purchase borrowers are
not likely to understand the true, long-term cost of the higher
interest rate nor are they likely to receive a credit at closing that
will fully compensate them for paying the higher interest rate because
the termination date of a HECM loan is unknown at the time of
origination, so the cost calculation can only be an estimate.
Additionally, in light of recent enforcement actions by state
authorities against mortgage lenders in the forward mortgage market
that failed to refund surplus lender credits to borrowers, the
commenter also raised concerns that HECM for Purchase borrowers may not
receive the full benefit of premium pricing credits.
Finally, the commenter disagreed that FHA should allow mortgagees
and third-party originators (TPOs) to contribute to closing costs. The
commenter noted that allowing mortgagees and TPOs to contribute toward
closing costs would increase the chances of undue influence, fraud, and
unaffordable loans for HECM for Purchase borrowers.
II. This Notice
HUD has carefully considered the comments received and has
determined that the potential harms to borrowers are significant enough
that it would be imprudent to make these changes at this time. Thus,
pursuant to the abovementioned authorities, HUD will remove the
following changes from HUD's Single Family Housing Policy Handbook
4000.1: (1) permitting premium pricing as an additional funding source
used to satisfy a HECM for Purchase borrower's monetary investment; (2)
including discount points in the definition of ``interested party
contribution''; (3) permitting interested party payment for permanent
and temporary interest rate buydowns as an interested party
contribution; (4) allowing mortgagees and third parties to make any
interested party contributions; and (5) allowing discount points and
interest rate buydowns as permissible closing costs for HECM for
Purchase transactions. Removing these changes means that the use of
premium pricing to help satisfy the borrower's monetary investment and
including discount points and permanent and temporary interest rate
buydowns as interested party contributions for a HECM for Purchase will
not be permissible, that mortgagees and third party originators (TPOs)
will be prohibited from making interested party contributions, and that
discount points and interest rate buydowns as permissible closing costs
will not be allowed after the effective date of HUD's Mortgagee Letter
or update to the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook.
Julia R. Gordon,
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2024-08819 Filed 4-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
