In a big win for lenders, the Louisiana Recovery Authority has decided that assistance grants going to homeowners with hurricane-damaged properties should be placed in escrow accounts."Compensation to the homeowners with mortgages will be disbursed at closing directly to an escrow account with the homeowner's lender," LRA spokeswoman Catherine Heitman told MortgageWire. Mortgage lenders and servicers have urged Louisiana and Mississippi to require escrow accounts as a way to ensure that the Community Development Block Grant funds appropriated by Congress are used for repairs and rebuilding. Mississippi decided to disburse the grant assistance directly to homeowners. Louisiana is going with escrow accounts. "We want the money to be used to rebuild and repair homes," Ms. Heitman said. LRA officials are still discussing whether homeowners who own their homes outright and don't have a mortgage should be required to have escrow accounts. About 120,000 Louisiana residents are expected to receive assistance grants.
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The increasing frequency and severity of droughts was top of mind for panelists at AmeriCatalyst's "Going to Extremes" conference Thursday.
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In a Senate hearing, Director Sandra Thompson said a raise to the required income threshold provided to affordable housing was on the table, while housing regulators also faced questions related to property insurance hikes and title insurance waivers.
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The nonpayment rate for non-qualified mortgages is up 21 basis points from February and 134 basis points from March 2023, Morningstar DBRS said.
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The government mortgage-bond guarantor will require additional information on foreclosure prevention actions, and retire some forbearance reporting.
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But views are split, at least in the near-term on whether rising mortgage rates are holding back the Spring home purchase season.
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The top five producers had an average dollar volume of FHA loans of more than $50 million in 2023.
April 18