FHA Call Center Up and Running

The Federal Housing Administration has created a call center to be more responsive to questions and inquiries from mortgage lenders, real estate agents, housing counselors, and nonprofit groups, as well as the public.As of May 1, the FHA Resource Center began taking inquires from members of the lending and housing industry, according to an FHA letter to lenders. The call center, run by contractor Electronic Consulting Services, Fairfax, Va., will ensure "prompt, accurate, and consistent responses" to questions about general processing and policy information, according to the FHA. The agency handles about 1.2 million inquiries annually. When it comes to case-specific issues related to underwriting, the call center will take questions only from direct-endorsement underwriters, not mortgage brokers or other correspondents. "Therefore, when other lender representatives contact the FHA Resource Center about underwriting issues, they will be referred back to their DE underwriter," the May 1 letter says. Servicing questions will still be handled by the FHA National Servicing Center.