Better Credit FHA Loans Performing Well
FHA officials recently expressed new reasons to be optimistic. The FHA home loans made in 2009 tended to go to borrowers with higher credit scores than in previous years. These borrowers turned to the FHA when the mortgage market collapsed and other lending sources dried up. By then, reputable lenders doing business with the agency were already imposing tougher restrictions on FHA borrowers, further boosting the credit profile of those FHA loans. The average credit score of an FHA borrower is now 690, up from 630 only two years ago, agency officials said. Are credit repair efforts working or are loan officers doing a better job qualifying loan applicants? Nonetheless, these higher fico mortgages are expected to result in lower losses, so FHA should make money on mortgage loans issued this year and over the next few years, according to an independent audit designed to gauge the agency’s health.
The November audit, found that the cash the FHA set aside to pay for unexpected losses had dipped to historic lows, well below the level required by law. As of Sept. 30, those reserves were estimated at $3.6 billion, down from nearly $13 billion a year earlier. The most recent figure represents 0.53% of the value of all FHA 1-family home loans far lower than the 2% required by Congress. But Ann Schnare, a former Freddie Mac official, said the situation could be even worse. She said the audit underestimates future losses because it does not take into account all loans that are now overdue, only those that the FHA has paid claims on. Stevens said his agency has pored over its data to analyze risk and is taking steps to shore up its financial health. “You have a limited set of options under these circumstances: Raise fees [for borrowers] or make policy changes,” Stevens said in an interview. “We’ve done both.”
The agency banned 268 FHA lenders from making FHA mortgage loans last year, more than double the total terminated in the previous eight years. The FHA suspended six other firms. Among them were some of the largest FHA mortgage lenders –Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and Lend America, both of which shut their doors soon thereafter. The agency also proposed a rule that would require banks to hold up to $2.5 million in capital that they can use to repay the agency for losses if they were involved in fraud. Banks are now required to hold only $250,000.
Borrowers are also facing tougher scrutiny from the agency. People taking out FHA mortgage loans will have to pay higher upfront fees, perhaps as early as this spring. Those with especially weak credit scores will also have to put down at least 10% instead of the usual 3.5% down-payment. The amount of money sellers can kick in toward closing costs and other fees will also be limited.
FHA Credit, FHA Guidelines, FHA Loan Articles, FHA Loan Updates, FHA News, Mortgage News
