Updates, news, and views about the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

FHA: Mortgagee Review Board - Administrative Actions

Periodically, we review with you the types of administrative actions taken by HUD's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB).

The review of the MRB's published administrative actions should be considered a teaching moment for all FHA approved mortgagees, inasmuch as the MRB is empowered to enforce its administrative sanctions through, among other things, reprimand, probation, suspension or withdrawal of approval and/or underwriting authority, cease-and-desist orders, and civil money penalties.

On April 11, 2013 HUD published the administrative actions taken by the Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) against certain FHA mortgagees. The period covered in the issuance is January 1, 2012 to September 30, 2012.

In this article, I provide an outline of the kinds of violations and respective sanctions that the MRB recently sustained.
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IN THIS ARTICLE

A Word to the Wise
Rule of Thumb
Administrative Actions

Library
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A Word to the Wise Word

In representing clients before the MRB, I can vouch for the exhaustive due diligence that is virtually mandated, the considerable costs involved, the experienced legal counsel and requisite regulatory compliance expertise that is needed, and the significant adverse impact on an FHA lender's ability to conduct or even continue in business.

It's easy to get lulled into a sense of false confidence by thinking that some violations are minor. But if the MRB gets involved, those minor violations will become a part of the causes for administrative action, and even in some instances the proximate cause of the administrative action.

Nothing should be considered a "minor" violation, when originating HUD/FHA mortgage loans.

It is instructive to note the causes for the administrative action brought against an FHA-approved mortgagee.

Ignorance is a futile defense, when it comes to the causes that can affirmatively contribute to disciplinary action.

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Rule of Thumb Rule

The MRB is not sympathetic to a mortgagee that violates HUD/FHA requirements which are, or are expected to be, within the mortgagee's control.

Violations that are not, or not expected to be, in the mortgagee's control provide the MRB with a more nuanced basis upon which to provide some leniency.
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Administrative Actions

VIOLATION:
Failed to notify the Department that it was the subject of multiple state regulatory actions and sanctions, and submitted false certifications to HUD in connection with its annual renewal of eligibility documentation for its fiscal years ending in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

ACTION:  
Civil money penalty in the amount of $75,000.

VIOLATION:
Failed to perform quality control functions in compliance with HUD/FHA requirements, failed to meet the requirements for participation in the FHA mortgage insurance program, failed to ensure the correct mortgagee identification number was used when originating FHA-insured mortgage loans, failed to adequately document the source of and/or adequacy of funds used for closing, failed to correctly calculate and document the mortgagor's income, failed to verify the stability of the mortgagor's income, failed to ensure the mortgagor was eligible for an FHA-insured mortgage loan, failed to ensure the property met HUD's eligibility requirements, failed to comply with TOTAL Scorecard requirements, failed to comply with HUD's property flipping requirements, failed to provide construction documents required for property eligibility and/or high ratio financing resulting in over-insured mortgages, failed to ensure that the maximum mortgage amount was correctly calculated, resulting in over-insured mortgages, failed to ensure that data submitted to HUD systems was accurate, and charged mortgagors unallowable fees.

ACTION:
Notice of Administrative Action immediately and permanently withdrawing the FHA approval.

VIOLATION: Failed to obtain adequate documentation of the income used to qualify a borrower, failed to resolve discrepancies and/or conflicting information before submitting loans for FHA mortgage approval, and failed to ensure mortgagors were not charged fees that were excessive and/or unreasonable for the services performed.

ACTION:
Settlement Agreement that required civil money penalties in the amount of $17,000, to indemnify HUD/FHA for its losses with respect to two FHA-insured loans, and to refund borrowers for excessive origination fees.

VIOLATION:
Submitted or caused to be submitted false information to HUD in relation to 63 mortgagee record changes, failed to reconcile its portfolio data and allowed HUD records to incorrectly identify the mortgagee as the holder of 97 FHA-insured mortgage loans, and submitted false information to HUD on 133 claims for FHA insurance benefits and, in 90 instances, claimed benefits for ineligible holders of record.

ACTION: Settlement Agreement that, among other things, required a civil money penalty in the amount of $1.2 million and to complete mortgage record changes to facilitate the payment of certain FHA insurance claims.