Department of Housing and Urban Development July 15, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice outlines the process by which governmental entities, nonprofit organizations, and subrecipients participating in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) (eligible NSP purchasers) are provided a preference to acquire FHA real estate-owned (REO) properties under FHA's temporary NSP First Look Sales Method. Eligible NSP purchasers may acquire such REO properties for any of the eligible uses under the NSP, including rental or homeownership. Today's notice also outlines how REO property sales under the FHA First Look Sales Method will be facilitated to ensure that NSP and FHA requirements are met, and to ensure that compliance with these requirements does not impede or otherwise disqualify eligible NSP purchasers from successfully participating in the FHA First Look Sales Method.

A recently issued independent actuarial study shows that the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) capital ratio has fallen below its statutorily mandated threshold. Consistent with HUD's responsibility under the National Housing Act to ensure that the MMIF remains financially sound, this notice solicits public comment on three proposed initiatives that will contribute to the restoration of the MMIF capital reserve account. The changes proposed in this notice are designed to preserve both the historical role of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in providing a home financing vehicle during periods of economic volatility and HUD's social mission of helping underserved borrowers. FHA proposes to tighten only those portions of its underwriting guidelines that have been found to present an excessive level of risk to both homeowners and FHA. First, FHA proposes to reduce the amount of closing costs a seller may pay on behalf of a homebuyer purchasing a home with FHA-insured mortgage financing for the purposes of calculating the maximum mortgage amount. This proposed cap on ``seller concessions'' will minimize FHA exposure to the risk of adverse selection. Secondly, FHA proposes to introduce a credit score threshold as well as reduce the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) for borrowers with lower credit scores, who represent a higher risk of default and mortgage insurance claim. Finally, FHA will tighten underwriting standards for mortgage loan transactions that are manually underwritten. These transactions have resulted in high mortgage insurance claim rates and present an unacceptable risk of loss.