Mortgagee Letters from the FHA

What are Mortgagee Letters?

Mortgagee letters are created by the FHA, or Federal Housing Administration, and released through the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. The purpose of the mortgagee letters is to keep lenders up to date on how the FHA is operating. These letters contain information pertaining to:

• FHA procedures
• FHA policies
• FHA operations
• Any changes that have been made within the Administration

Can Home Buyers Benefit From Mortgagee Letters?

In short, definitely. Mortgagee letters are available to the general public online at both the HUD and FHA websites, not just lenders. Though it may be a little tedious to decipher at times, mortgagee letters offer home buyers a wealth of information on the climate of the lending market, current regulations and policies, as well as any new changes that are under way.

With this type of insight home buyers can approach lenders with more assurance and a better understanding of the loan they will soon enter into. Mortgagee Letters can also shed light on opportunities that you didn’t know were there and help you to be among the first to take advantage of new programs.

For example, the most current Mortgagee Letter released on January 16, 2009 outlines a new program participating mortgage servers are taking part in to help struggling homeowners make their payments. If you are one of those homeowners this is extremely valuable information.

Though the new year is less than a month old here are the Mortgagee Letters that have already been issued:

• Lifeline Initiative's Impact on FHA's Foreclosure Time Frames
• Tier Ranking Scores - Incentive Round 34
• HOPE for Homeowners Origination and Servicing Guidance Supplement
• Co-branded Outreach Materials
• Annual Renewal Of FHA Approval