US Sues Bank of America Over Bad Loans

The US Attorney's office alleged in a statement on Wednesday that Countrywide - the mortgage giant now owned by Bank of America - labelled defective mortgages as high-quality and sold them to state-controlled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, resulting in billions of dollars of losses.

This is the first civil fraud suit brought by the Department of Justice concerning mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

See the full story at www.telegraph.co.uk.

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FHA Appraisal Guidlines Change 2/15/2010

The new Appraiser Independence (ML 2009-28) requirements for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans officially took effect February 15, 2010. Originally planned for a January 1, 2010 implementation, the enactment was delayed to provide the FHA and lenders with additional time to adjust systems to accommodate the changes.

Many of the new guidelines are similar to the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which has been in place since May 1, 2009 for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans. Under FHA’s rules, appraisers are required to receive reasonable and customary compensation and cannot be affiliated with lending agencies. In addition, appraisers are required to have familiarity, experience, and knowledge in the geographic location of the properties being appraised, and higher standards have been adopted for the process of ordering appraisals.

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