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The Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) is pleased to announce revisions to technical HB-1-3555, Chapter 11, Ratio Analysis. An advance copy of the proposed changes was made available on July 20, 2021. These changes became effective upon the recent issuance of a Procedure Notice (PN). Below are the highlighted revisions:
Chapter 11- Ratio Analysis
11.2 B. The Total Debt Ratio:
Student Loans: Removed the phrase “the greater of” from Non-Fixed payment loans and added guidance regarding “when the payment is above zero” and “when the payment is zero”.
Revolving accounts: “with no outstanding balance” are not required to be closed.
Mortgages: Rental Property – Eliminated language regarding omission of mortgage debt. Guidance for entry of rental income in GUS is provided in the GUS Lender User Guide under Section 4.1.4.1.1, Retained Investment Properties.
Added: Debt management plans:
Include the monthly payment amount due from the counseling plan.
Refer to Chapter 10 for guidance on credit exception and documentation requirements.
11.3 DEBT RATIO WAIVERS AND COMPENSATING FACTORS
A. Purchase Transactions: Debt Ratio Waivers
GUS Refer, Refer with Caution, and manually underwritten loans without GUS assistance:
Added: “The lender must document eligible compensating factors to support a debt ratio waiver.”
Added: “all” of the following conditions are met to the first paragraph.
Debt Ratio Waiver Request and Agency Approval:
Added: “The issuance of the Conditional Commitment for a Loan Note Guarantee represents Agency approval of the ratio waiver.”
B. Refinance Transactions: Debt Ratio Waivers
Added a bullet: GUS files that receive a GUS recommendation of Refer, Refer with Caution, or are not supported by GUS, require debt ratio waivers, and supporting documentation must be submitted to the Agency.
Added: “The issuance of the Conditional Commitment for a Loan Note Guarantee represents Agency approval of the ratio waiver”.
11.7 OBLIGATIONS NOT INCLUDED IN DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIOS
Added: “unless a payment plan is in place” to the second bullet concerning Federal, state, and local taxes.
Fiscal Year 2022 Conditional Commitment NoticeWith the start of Fiscal Year 2022 (FY) soon approaching, please take a few minutes to review the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) Conditional Commitment process. We hope you find this information helpful.FY 2022 will begin October 1, 2021 and ends at the close of business September 30, 2022.Fee Structures:An upfront guarantee fee of 1.00 percent and an annual fee of .35 percent will apply to both purchase and refinance transactions for FY 2022.Issuance of Conditional Commitments:At the beginning of each fiscal year, funding for the guaranteed loan program is not available for a short period of time – approximately two weeks. USDA anticipates this brief lapse in funding to continue for FY 2022. During the temporary lapse in funding, Rural Development – Rural Housing Service (RHS) will issue Conditional Commitments (Form RD 3555-18/18E) “subject to the availability of commitment authority” for purchase and refinance transactions. The issued Conditional Commitment will include the following:“Funds are not presently available for this Conditional Commitment. The Rural Development-Rural Housing Service (RHS) obligation under this Conditional Commitment is contingent upon the availability of an appropriation from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part ofRHS for any payment on this Conditional Commitment may arise until funds are made available to RHS for this Conditional Commitment and until the Lender receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by RHS. More specifically, this Conditional Commitment is subject to RHS receiving sufficient funds (in the Program Funds Control System for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program for the Type of Assistance and State of application submission) to fund this and all prior eligible outstanding applications in their entirety in the time and date order received. When such funds become available, RHS will notify the lender, and the guarantee process will continue subject to all applicable Agency regulations and conditions set forth in this Conditional Commitment. RHS will not reserve loan funds for applications in process during this timeframe. Lenders may close the loan as scheduled. The lender will assume all risk of loss for the loan until RHS obligates funds and the Loan Note Guarantee is subsequently issued. When the lender requests the Loan Note Guarantee, the lender must certify to the Agency, using the process provided in this commitment, that there have been no adverse changes to the borrower’s financial condition since the date the Conditional Commitment was issued by the Agency. The lender will submit the appropriate guarantee fee at the time they request the Loan Note Guarantee. The loan will be subject to an annual fee of 0.35 percent over the average scheduled unpaid principal balance of the loan. The Agency will not be able to issue the Loan Note Guarantee until these conditions are met and funding is obligated.”The application processing workflow is as follows:Rural Development will continue to accept complete guaranteed loan applications for purchase and refinance loan transactions from approved lenders;Rural Development will process, approve, and issue Conditional Commitments for those applications that are eligible “subject to the availability of commitment authority”;Lenders may close loans as scheduled;When funds become available, Rural Development will utilize the Electronic Customer File (ECF) system to advance the file to “Obligate Application” for Conditional Commitments that were issued for loans subject to the availability of commitment authority;Once loans are obligated, Rural Development may process lender’s Loan Note Guarantee requests when the loan closing is verified, and all conditions of the Conditional Commitment are satisfied;Lenders assume all loss default risk for the loan until Rural Development is able to obligate the loan and issue the Loan Note Guarantee. Thank you for your participation in the USDA Single Family Housing Guaranteed Program. We look forward to serving you in FY 2022!
Fiscal Year 2022 Conditional Commitment NoticeWith the start of Fiscal Year 2022 (FY) soon approaching, please take a few minutes to review the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) Conditional Commitment process. We hope you find this information helpful.FY 2022 will begin October 1, 2021 and ends at the close of business September 30, 2022.Fee Structures:An upfront guarantee fee of 1.00 percent and an annual fee of .35 percent will apply to both purchase and refinance transactions for FY 2022.Issuance of Conditional Commitments:At the beginning of each fiscal year, funding for the guaranteed loan program is not available for a short period of time – approximately two weeks. USDA anticipates this brief lapse in funding to continue for FY 2022. During the temporary lapse in funding, Rural Development – Rural Housing Service (RHS) will issue Conditional Commitments (Form RD 3555-18/18E) “subject to the availability of commitment authority” for purchase and refinance transactions. The issued Conditional Commitment will include the following:“Funds are not presently available for this Conditional Commitment. The Rural Development-Rural Housing Service (RHS) obligation under this Conditional Commitment is contingent upon the availability of an appropriation from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part ofRHS for any payment on this Conditional Commitment may arise until funds are made available to RHS for this Conditional Commitment and until the Lender receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by RHS. More specifically, this Conditional Commitment is subject to RHS receiving sufficient funds (in the Program Funds Control System for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program for the Type of Assistance and State of application submission) to fund this and all prior eligible outstanding applications in their entirety in the time and date order received. When such funds become available, RHS will notify the lender, and the guarantee process will continue subject to all applicable Agency regulations and conditions set forth in this Conditional Commitment. RHS will not reserve loan funds for applications in process during this timeframe. Lenders may close the loan as scheduled. The lender will assume all risk of loss for the loan until RHS obligates funds and the Loan Note Guarantee is subsequently issued. When the lender requests the Loan Note Guarantee, the lender must certify to the Agency, using the process provided in this commitment, that there have been no adverse changes to the borrower’s financial condition since the date the Conditional Commitment was issued by the Agency. The lender will submit the appropriate guarantee fee at the time they request the Loan Note Guarantee. The loan will be subject to an annual fee of 0.35 percent over the average scheduled unpaid principal balance of the loan. The Agency will not be able to issue the Loan Note Guarantee until these conditions are met and funding is obligated.”The application processing workflow is as follows:Rural Development will continue to accept complete guaranteed loan applications for purchase and refinance loan transactions from approved lenders;Rural Development will process, approve, and issue Conditional Commitments for those applications that are eligible “subject to the availability of commitment authority”;Lenders may close loans as scheduled;When funds become available, Rural Development will utilize the Electronic Customer File (ECF) system to advance the file to “Obligate Application” for Conditional Commitments that were issued for loans subject to the availability of commitment authority;Once loans are obligated, Rural Development may process lender’s Loan Note Guarantee requests when the loan closing is verified, and all conditions of the Conditional Commitment are satisfied;Lenders assume all loss default risk for the loan until Rural Development is able to obligate the loan and issue the Loan Note Guarantee. Thank you for your participation in the USDA Single Family Housing Guaranteed Program. We look forward to serving you in FY 2022!
USDA Advance Copy Notice HB-1-3555 Chapter 11 USDA has announced that Chapter 11 of the HB-1-3555 will be updated and an advanced copy has been provided. Changes will become effective after USDA issues a Special Procedure Notice.
Clarification was added that revolving accounts with no outstanding balance are not required to be closed.
USDA eliminated guidelines provided that a retained property that has been rented for 24 months or longer may be omitted from the DTI, and
Added guidance that the income received from rents may only be included in the repayment calculation if the property has been rented for 24 mo. or more.
Guidelines were added that monthly payment for borrowers in debt management plans must be included in the DTI.
The calculation guidelines for Non-Fixed Student Loan Payments were updated removing the requirement for the greater of calculation to be used and added guidance for when the payment amount is zero.
Additional guidance was added that compensating factors supporting Debt Ratio Waivers for manually underwritten loans must be documented.
Clarification was added that federal, state and local taxes don’t need to be included in the DTI unless there is a payment plan in place.
A Kentucky USDA home loan is a zero-dollar-down mortgage option provided by USDA’s Department of Rural Development.
This government-backed loan program comes in two types: direct loan, which is reserved for lower-income households and issued by USDA, and the guaranteed loan, which is reserved for low- to moderate-income families. The guaranteed loan is funded by private lenders, and USDA guarantees a portion of the loan against default.
The KY USDA home loan program is generally more beneficial to rural families than a conventional lending program, particularly for first-time homebuyers with lower- to median-level incomes.
Some of the benefits of Kentucky Rural Housing USDA loans include: • zero down payment • competitive interest rates • lower-than-average monthly mortgage insurance • relaxed credit requirements versus conventional loans
• no loan limits
How do I determine eligibility for a Kentucky Rural Housing USDA loan? To be eligible for a USDA home loan, borrowers must meet the program’s basic eligibility requirements. These requirements are relaxed compared to other mortgage options and are in place to ensure borrowers can make their monthly mortgage payments.
Here are a few of the basic Kentucky RHS USDA eligibility requirements:
• Income. Applicants must not have annual adjusted income greater than 115% of the median household income for the area. Check your county’s USDA income limit. This called compliance income.
• Credit. USDA’s guaranteed underwriting credit requirements. However, most lenders will want a 620 or preferably to get an Automated Approval 640 is the magic number in most cases. With regards to bankruptcy, 3 years is usually the date needed to lapse since your discharge. They actually require no minimum score but no lenders that I know of will do a no score loan.
• Employment. Applicants must have proof of two years of stable income and employment.
: Income: They will take your gross monthly income and develop two ratios for you: The front end ratio, which is called your housing ratio, and then the back-end ratio or total debt ratio is the house payment plus the total monthly payments listed on the credit report. If you pay child support, this is included in the qualifying ratios but utility bills, car insurance, cell phone bills, water bills etc, is not included. Typically 28% is used for the housing ratio, and
Student Loans: They are pretty tough on student loans and qualifying with your current student loan debts. They will make us use 1% of your outstanding balance on student loans, so sometimes this will cause the loan to get denied because your debt to income ratio is too high. If they are in an Income-Based repayment plan they will still make us use the .5% balance so keep this in mind. For example, let’s say you owe $50k in outstanding student loans, and your IBR plan calls for a $50 monthly payment. RHS will make us use $250, not the $50 IBR payment so you can see where this will cause issue on higher debt to income ratios on some loans.**********
If you are a Kentucky USDA Mortgage applicant who has student loan calculations will be changed to the following Fixed Payment Loans:
A permanent amortized, fixed payment may be used when it can be documented that the payment is fixed, the interest rate is fixed, and the repayment term is fixed.
Non-Fixed Payment Loans (i.e. deferred, income based, graduated, adjustable, etc.): The payment should be calculated as the greater of 0.5% of the loan balance or the actual payment reflected on the credit report. No additional documentation is required.
• Property location. Homes must be located within a rural area, as defined by USDA. Rural areas are any that have a population less than 35,000 depending on the area’s designation. Use this tool from USDA to determine if a specific address is eligible.
• Physical property. Homes must be the borrower’s primary residence, have direct access to a street, and have adequate utilities and water and wastewater disposal, among other things No working fams allowed or properties that income producing livestock or crops.
For those with lower incomes, a USDA direct loan provides greater opportunities for lending, as its credit and income requirements are more lax than the guaranteed loan option.
Disclaimer: No statement on this site is a commitment to make a loan. Loans are subject to borrower qualifications, including income, property evaluation, sufficient equity in the home to meet Loan-to-Value requirements, and final credit approval. Approvals are subject to underwriting guidelines, interest rates, and program guidelines and are subject to change without notice based on applicant’s eligibility and market conditions. Refinancing an existing loan may result in total finance charges being higher over the life of a loan. Reduction in payments may reflect a longer loan term. Terms of any loan may be subject to payment of points and fees by the applicant Equal Opportunity Lender. NMLS#57916http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/
Kentucky USDA Mortgage Lender for Rural Housing Loans 