The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) posted for stakeholder review and feedback the draft Claims and Disposition section of its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (SF Handbook; HUD Handbook 4000.1). The posting is a continuation of FHA’s progress toward a consolidated, authoritative SF Handbook that will make it easier to do business with FHA, the agency said in a release.
The Claims and Disposition section is organized into two subsections. The first subsection — the draft Claims subsection — provides comprehensive and consolidated guidance on the submission of claims for single-family FHA mortgage insurance benefits. It consolidates existing claims calculation and submission guidance found in the FHA Single Family Insurance Claims Handbook REV-1, subsequent Mortgagee Letters, relevant Housing Notices, and other claims policies and regulations published since 1995. The Claims subsection also covers claims calculations and submissions, post-claim reviews, withdrawal or cancellation of insurance claims, and debt collection and administrative offsets.
The draft disposition subsection contains comprehensive guidance on the disposition of HUD Real Estate Owned (REO) single-family properties and covers HUD’s Management and Marketing program and all activities from acquisition of title by HUD to disposition of the property. It consolidates existing guidance found in the 1994 Property Disposition Handbook - One to Four Family, subsequent Mortgagee Letters, relevant Housing Notices, and other disposition policies and regulations published since 1994.
The draft disposition subsection also includes information on the registration and/or approval processes and compliance policies for real estate brokers and closing agents. These policies will be added into the Doing Business with FHA — Other Participants in FHA Transactions, and, Quality Control, Oversight, and Compliance — Other Participants in FHA Transactions sections upon final publication.
The draft section and supporting information is posted on FHA's Single Family Housing Policy Drafting Table. Stakeholder feedback on the draft Claims and Disposition section through Sept. 4, 2015, is welcome. Stakeholders are encouraged to use the respective feedback worksheets and feedback submission process outlined on the web page.