Compliance Calendar

Oklahoma SB 794 increases the maximum loan finance charge that may be levied by a supervised lender by including the federal funds rate published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

On August 9, 2023, Freddie Mac published this bulletin updates and changes to COVID-19 temporary servicing guidance, expense reimbursement for preservation and maintenance of vacant properties, reimbursements for legal costs, contract noncompliance and contract change compensatory fee, and a few additional updates.

On August 9, 2023, Fannie Me published this Lender Letter updates and changes to COVID-19 Payment Deferral, Flex Modification for COVID-19 impacted borrower, evaluation hierarchy for a borrower impacted by COVID-19, updates to the Investor Reporting Manually, and the Appendix.

The Selling Guide has been updated to include changes to the following:

▪ Personal gifts and gifts of equity: clarifying requirements when the donor is the seller of the property and when the source of the gift is an estate or trust

▪ 3D printed homes: clarifying property eligibility and comparable sales requirements for 3D printed homes

▪ Trust income: updating the policy for using income earned from a trust towards qualifying

▪ Miscellaneous updates:

o Removal of closing protection letter requirement for manufactured homes

o Shared appreciation provider requirements

This Guide Bulletin announces:

Income updates

• Written income analysis updates

Timeshare related obligations

• Guidance related to timeshare loans and timeshare maintenance fees

Additional Guide updates

• Further updates as described in the Additional Guide updates section of this Bulletin

EFFECTIVE DATE

All of the changes announced in this Bulletin are effective immediately unless otherwise noted.

INCOME UPDATES

Written income analysis

We have provided examples of content that may be included in a Seller’s written income analysis to emphasize the importance of documenting the Seller’s income analysis and calculation, which may aid in future secondary reviews.

Guide impact: Section 5301.1

TIMESHARE RELATED OBLIGATIONS

We have updated the Guide to address timeshare-related obligations by specifying that:

• Timeshare loans are considered installment debts, regardless of how they are reflected on the credit report (e.g., as a mortgage); as such, payments for timeshare loans are not considered housing payments, and foreclosure recovery time periods for reestablishment of credit are not applicable to timeshare loans in foreclosure,
• Timeshare maintenance fees are not required to be included in the Borrower’s monthly debt payment-to-income ratio, and
• Timeshare ownership is not considered an ownership interest in a residential property for purposes of the Glossary definition of “First-Time Homebuyer”

Guide impacts: Sections 5202.5, 5401.2, Exhibit 1 and Glossary

ADDITIONAL GUIDE UPDATES

Uniform Instruments

We have updated Exhibit 4A, Single-Family Uniform Instruments, to reflect a new version date for the District of Columbia Security Instrument, which was revised to provide more clarity to Section 26(a). This update supersedes the June 2023 revisions to the District of Columbia Security Instrument. The revised District of Columbia Deed of Trust will have a revised tagline showing a version date of (Form 3009 07/2021 (rev. 08/23)).

Guide impact: Exhibit 4A

Additional resources

The updated Security Instruments are available on our 2021 Uniform Instruments webpage(opens in new window).

Credit Fees

Credit Fee updates

We have made Guide updates related to Credit Fees and created new Section 5701.13 to require Sellers to refer to Exhibit 19, Credit Fees, for Credit Fees related to Condominium Units, including Detached Condominium Units.

Guide impacts: Sections 4607.17, 5701.13 (new) and 6302.20

Update to Guide Exhibit 19A, Credit Fee Cap Eligibility Criteria

In Bulletin 2023-3, we introduced Exhibit 19A, which included CHOICERenovation^® Mortgages in the list of products eligible for the Duty to Serve Credit Fee Cap. To address subsequent Seller feedback, we have updated Exhibit 19A to reflect that CHOICEReno eXPress^®, a type of CHOICERenovation Mortgage, is eligible for the Duty to Serve Credit Fee Cap. As with all CHOICERenovation Mortgages eligible for the Duty to Serve Credit Fee Cap, CHOICEReno eXPress Mortgages must be delivered in accordance with Section 6302.43(b).

Guide impact: Exhibit 19A

Delivery program eligibility for super conforming Mortgages

For Sellers with Pricing Identifier Terms that permit delivery of fixed-rate super conforming Mortgages under the Guarantor program, we have updated our delivery program eligibility to allow delivery of fixed-rate super conforming Mortgages under fixed-rate Cash Contracts, provided the Seller’s negotiated provisions do not specify otherwise.

Guide impact: Section 6302.31

GUIDE UPDATES SPREADSHEET

For a detailed list of the Guide updates associated with this Bulletin and the topics with which they correspond, access the Bulletin 2023-22 (Selling) Guide Updates Spreadsheet via the Download drop-down available at https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/guide/bulletin/2023-22.

Effective November 1, 2023, Oklahoma county clerks will require an affidavit regarding compliance with state laws on foreign property ownership to be included with every deed filed.

On November 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued ML-2023-18 updating the sales comparison approach for manufactured housing effective immediately.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Loan Guaranty (LGY) program is publishing this Circular to notify participants of the VA Home Loan program such as lenders, servicers, Veterans and other external stakeholders that RLC-based Outlook mailboxes used for submitting customer service inquiries or program specific questions to Construction and Valuation (C&V) and Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) personnel will be decommissioned and transitioned to a ServiceNow Portal. The link for the ServiceNow portal, along with contact information for other areas of LGY, can be found here: https://www.benefits.va.gov/HO....

Subject

Extension of the Foreclosure Moratorium in Connection with the Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Area in Maui County, Hawaii

Purpose

This Dear Lender Letter (DLL) extends the foreclosure moratorium in Maui County, Hawaii.

Effective Date

This DLL is effective immediately. The moratorium will remain in effect through May 6, 2024.

Public Feedback

HUD welcomes feedback from interested parties for a period of 30 calendar days from the date of issuance. To provide feedback on this policy document, please send feedback to Office of Loan Guarantee at Section184Comments@HUD.gov. HUD will consider the feedback in determining the need for future updates.

Affected Programs

This guidance applies to the Section 184A Native Hawaiian Housing Loan Guarantee (Section 184A) program

Background

HUD imposes an automatic 90-day foreclosure moratorium beginning on the date of any Presidentially Declared Major Disaster Area declaration. On August 0, 2023, President Joseph R. Biden declared Maui County, Hawaii, a major disaster area due to the wildfires that decimated the county. HUD’s automatic foreclosure moratorium is set to expire on November 8, 2023.

Due to the extent of the devastation from the wildfires and due to the unique geographic location of Maui, which makes recovery more difficult, HUD is extending the foreclosure moratorium to allow extended loss mitigation. HUD believes that borrowers need the additional time provided by the moratorium to access federal, state, or local housing resources and to consult with HUD-approved housing counselors.

Extension of Foreclosure Moratorium for Maui County, Hawaii

Properties guaranteed by the Section 184A program are subject to a moratorium on foreclosure through May 6, 2024. The moratorium applies to the initiation of 184A mortgage assignments to HUD and 184A mortgage assignments already in process.

Deadlines for the first legal action and reasonable diligence time frame are extended by 180 days from May 6, 2024.

Questions

Any questions regarding this DLL may be directed to 184A@hud.gov.

Subject: Update to Property Inspection Fees

Purpose: This Mortgagee Letter (ML) updates inspection fees for Property Preservation and Protection.

Effective: Date The provisions of this ML may be implemented immediately.

All updates will be incorporated into a forthcoming update of the HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (Handbook 4000.1).

Affected Programs: The provisions of this ML apply to all FHA Title II Single Family forward mortgage programs.

Background: HUD requires mortgagees to perform property inspections to determine occupancy status, ascertain property condition, and to maintain property
preservation. Property inspections ensure the condition of FHA-insured properties do not contribute to neighborhood blight but support vibrant communities while safeguarding the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. HUD recognizes that FHA’s reimbursable expenses for inspection costs have not kept up with industry costs. Through this ML, HUD is increasing the allowable inspection fees to align with industry standards. HUD will continue to review its maximum property preservation allowances
to ensure the allowable fees align with industry standards.

Summary of Changes: This ML updates Appendix 7.0 – Property Preservation Allowances and Schedules (Applies to Servicing Only) for property inspections.

Loan Modification Agreement Updated Nov. 29, 2023:

This topic has been deleted.

The purpose of this Circular is to announce a foreclosure moratorium and update servicers on how to assist borrowers.