Admittedly, this is a tad boring – but still important. (Like diplomacy, some might say.) FHA has made changes to its Social Security Number verification system that will extend the process a bit. Instead of instant approval, the process will require an overnight check – but with high application numbers that may be longer. There are details in a release from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

And it’s over DPA! Imagine that. Beazer, a homebuilder and financer out of Atlanta, is having a whole heap of problems and they include (but are not limited to) messing around with DPAs. The details are pretty vague right now, but according to The Charlotte Observer:

Beazer Homes USA, under federal investigation for its business practices, said Thursday that employees of its mortgage unit violated U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations.

The Atlanta-based homebuilder said the violations were “particularly in relation” to down payment assistance programs for Federal Housing Administration insured loans dating to at least 2000.

The company also said it will restate financial statements from as far back as 1999 after interim findings of an internal investigation into its mortgage operations. Beazer said it was not yet possible to determine the impact on its financial statements.

Like I said, awfully vague. I’m sure there will be many more scandal details to come.

People love lists. Love them! Most people don’t like mortgages….but…what about a list of things to change about mortgages? Brilliant! Larry Cragun over at SeattlePI.com has done just that and it’s a good, quick read. Larry’s got some great ideas, I’m all about numbers 5 and 10:

5- Sub Prime loans. My proposed change: only allow it be sold to those who have taken an advanced college course in internal rate of return.

10. Restrictive FHA rules. Make FHA more available. It will make the rates go down on this already competitive program. It will keep some uncaring lenders from selling sub prime when they should have sold FHA, but didn’t have it.

Keep up the lists!

In honor of brilliance, a favorite commercial:

So Nehemiah and AmeriDream are suing HUD for banning DPA (down payment assistance). Let’s reivew what happens with DPA “gifts”:

The program works this way: Once contacted by a lender, Nehemiah sends a gift covering the homebuyer’s down payment. Average gift: $4,000. The seller of the home then reimburses Nehemiah, plus a fee.

HUD’s complaint is that often the sellers, despite being discouraged by Nehemiah, add those costs to the sale price. The agency says this leads to greater financial strain on the homebuyer, and more defaults for HUD, whose Federal Housing Administration insures the mortgages. “Loans made to borrowers who rely on these types of seller-funded assistance perform very poorly,” the agency said in its final decision banning the program.

If Nehemiah and AmeriDream are as devoted to consumers as they say they are, maybe they could use their corporations to help people in ways that don’t involve jacking up housing prices.