HUD Eliminates 1% Cap on FHA Mortgages

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) removed the 1% origination fee cap on loans insured by the Federal Housing Agency (FHA), according a mortgagee letter sent out this week.

HUD made the change to remain consistent with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which will require mortgage lenders to disclose to borrowers a single origination fee on the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the HUD-1 Settlement Statement. The regulations go into effect Jan. 1, 2010 and have software developers scrambling to fit in the updates before the deadline.