HUD Releases Areas Receiving Loan Limit Increase

HUD Sec.Andrew Cuomo told attendees of the 85th Annual Mortgage Bankers Association of America that he would put the new FHA loan limits into place as soon as President Clinton signs the 1999 HUD/VA appropriations bill passed by Congress last week. Sec. Cuomo told the Mortgage Bankers Convention here that the President will sign the measure this week, and that the "moment after" the legislation is signed, he will "put the new limits into effect immediately." The new ceilings already are posted on HUD's website (http://www.hud.gov), and in an effort to get the word out, the department said it is willing to fax reporters the limits for their area upon request. The new limits range from $109,032 in low-cost areas to $191,621 in high-cost areas, a substantial increase from the current $86,317 ceiling in inexpensive counties to $170,362 in more expensive places. The legislation not only enables more families to obtain larger FHA mortgages, it also consolidates what has been an unwieldy system in which the agency had more than 2,000 different ceilings nationwide. Under the new system, Sec. Cuomo said, there will be "just under 200." Also, for the first time, all counties within a metropolitan area will have the same ceiling. The vast majority will see their limits go higher when the new ceilings are put in place.