In the hope of finding a solution and improved the dynamics of the home building industry, the Federal Housing Commissioner made some good initiatives for hud approved builders. This will bring the much needed boost for the hud approved builders and the home building industry as a whole.

Years ago there was a pilot program initiated by the Federal Housing Commissioner to strengthen the home building industry. This is about the hud approved builders. One of these initiatives is a pilot program to provide single family mortgage insurance for construction/permanent mortgages. This applies only to hud approved builders.

The federal housing department has elected to this pilot program to 5 states. Namely; Texas, California, Colorado, Maryland, and Florida. This mortgage letter is to provide guidance to field offices and lenders in these states on the processing, underwriting, and insuring of construction/permanent mortgages. This was also announced by then Secretary Kemp on May 18, 1992 as part of the initiatives by the department to strengthen the home building industry.

Program Information;

Disbursement of Funds: it is the responsibility of the lender to obtain written approval from the borrower before each draw payment is provided by the builder.

Interest Rate: The permanent mortgage loan interest rate must be established at closing.

Construction Period Fees: Construction loan interest, commitment fees, inspection fees, title update fees, real estate taxes, hazard insurance and other financing charges incurred during the construction period are the responsibility of the builder.

Closing Costs: Only the typical, customary, and reasonable closing costs may be included in the estimate of closing costs upon which the maximum mortgage amount is based. No additional fees or charges may be included for the type of financing.

Disclosure: The borrower must be provided with a disclosure explaining that the loan is not eligible for HUD mortgage insurance until after either a final inspection or issuance of a certificate of occupancy by the local governmental jurisdiction. This Disclosure statement should be prepared the lender and approved by the local HUD office before the beginning of a program of this kind.

Amortization: must begin no later than the first of the month following 60 days from the date of either the final inspection or issuance of certificate of occupancy, whichever is later.

Endorsement: Request for endorsement must be submitted by the lender after inspection or issuance of occupancy. During construction, the loan is not HUD insured.

Escrow of Taxes and Insurance: may be established at the time of loan closing or at the time of final inspection of issuance of certificate of occupancy (lenders option).

Builders: Only HUD approved builders may use this program. An individual builder is limited to 25 units per year under this program. If a builder wishes to increase production beyond the 25 units, HUD Field Office must obtain approval from HUD Headquarters.

As it clearly indicates in the program only hud approved builders use this program. With this program by the Federal housing department, it really does help both the home builders and the home buyers. This initiative program will go a long way in helping both the home buyers and the home builders. Home builders for hud should look into this as it was mentioned, only for hud approved builders.