Audio of Last Weeks FHA Multifamily House Hearing.

Prior post with links to written testimony is HERE; you can download new large (84 MB) MP3 audio HERE from this two hour hearing.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog. 

US House Hearing Today on FHA Multifamily Programs.

Sub Committee of House Financial Services Committee website for hearing is HERE. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

House Housing Subcommiittee Holds Housing Counseling Hearing.

Main web page for hearing is HERE, includes link to testimony and video of hearing.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

House Financial Services Hearing on Mortgage Origination Transcripts.

For readers with a Multnomah County library card, there are now transcripts available of a recent hearing on mortgage origination held by a House Financial Services Sub Committee.  Panel one transcript is HERE; Panel two transcript is HERE. 

To view the transcript after you click the link you will be required to enter your Multnomah County library card and a PIN (you will have to complete a one time registration if you don't have a PIN). 

Other library systems likely have similar on line access. To find these transcripts look for Political Transcript Service, July 15, 2011. 

The Sub Committee web page for this July 13, 2011 hearing is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Updated: House Hearing on Draft Section 8 Savings Act of 2011 (SESA).

Update, Audio to Hearing Posted: I have uploaded to my web space a MP3 audio file of the hearing which can be downloaded HERE ; file is 72 MB and starts during the opening testimony of the HUD AS for Public Housing.
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I have consolidated all written testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, AND the draft bill language, into a single PDF file HERE. 

A summary of bill provisions can be found at the NLIHC website HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

1st Video of HOME Hearing This AM.

I have posted HERE to the Internet Archive the 1st portion of video from today's House Financial Services Committee hearing on the HUD HOME program. [Video also embedded below]. 

Video starts after opening statements, includes testimony of 2 HUD witnesses and questions from Chair and ranking member. 

(Hearing page HERE includes written testimony from these witnesses). 

 

I will attempt to post another video after hearing restarts. Video 2 will start after reopening of hearing, and misses a couple of minutes. It will include questions from members of the Committee.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Audio: House Financial Services Committee Hearing, March 1st, HUD Oversight

Hearing has one witness, HUD Secretary Donovan, and covers the FY 2012 HUD Budget request and other topics.  

Donovan's written testimony is HERE; I created an audio and posted to the Internet Archive HERE--you can play on line or download from this site. 

A NLIHC Memo to Members summary of the hearing is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

House Financial Services Committee Markup Tomorrow of Bills to End Four Existing Foreclosure Relief Programs, Including HAMP and NSP 3.

PR is HERE;  Text of actual bills can be found HERE. Subcommittee hearing is today, full Committee markup tomorrow.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Treasury and Federal Reserve Inspector Generals Respond to House Republican Financial Services Comittee Questions About Roll Out of Consumer Protection Bureau.

Responding to new House Financial Services Chair Bachus (missing Barney Frank already), their joint response is HERE. 

Possible that Republicans could try delay strategy for confirming new head of Bureau to restrict implementing parts of law, citing IG's conclusion that:

In addition to the transferred functions, the Bureau has newly-established federal consumer financial regulatory authorities. The Secretary is not permitted to perform certain newly-established Bureau authorities if there is no confirmed Director by the designated transfer date. For example, if there is no Senate-confirmed Director by the designated transfer date, in general, the Secretary is not permitted to exercise the Bureau’s authority to:

prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices under subtitle C in connection with consumer financial products and services;

prescribe rules and require model disclosure forms under subtitle C to ensure that the features of a consumer financial product or service are fairly, accurately, and effectively disclosed both initially and over the term of the product or service;

prescribe rules under section 1022 relating to, among other things, the filing of limited reports to the Bureau for the purpose of determining whether a nondepository institution should be supervised by the Bureau;

supervise nondepository institutions under section 1024, including the authority to (a) prescribe rules defining the scope of nondepository institutions subject to the Bureau’s supervision, (b) prescribe rules establishing recordkeeping requirements that the Bureau determines are needed to facilitate nondepository supervision, and (c) conduct examinations of nondepository institutions.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Mortgage Provisions From Housing Finance Reform Conference Committee Approved Version.

Title XIV (aka "14") provisions, all 206 double space pages, are HERE.

(There is a LOT to digest in this Title, so if anyone sees good section by section summaries of this Title in the Conference passed bill, please do let me know so I can share them). 

Other titles from the conference bill are also being posted on House Financial Services web page HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Barney Explains House Proposed $3 Billion Program to Help Unemployed Borrowers Plus $1 Billion More for NSP.

Video with Chair Frank's explanation from June 23, 2010 conference committee hearing is HERE. (Start time is 51:29 if link doesn't work properly).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Combined Written Testimony from This AM House Financial Services Hearing on HUD Transforming Rental Assistance Proposal.

I have combined all witness testimony into a single PDF file HERE. (My prior post about this 7 AM PDT hearing today is HERE).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

CBO: FHA Reform Bill (HR 5072 ) Would Reduce Spending/Outlays by $2.5 Billion.

CBO cost estimate is HERE.

Under this legislation, the cap on annual premiums for the single-family program would increase from 0.55 percent to 1.55 percent of the loan balance. The average borrower currently pays a fee equal to 0.52 percent of the remaining balance on their mortgage to FHA. Based on information from FHA, CBO expects that under the bill, FHA would charge borrowers, on average, 0.88 percent of their loan balance amount annually. In addition, CBO expects that FHA would lower the up-front premium from 2.25 percent to 1 percent of the mortgage amount, though this action would not be required under this legislation. CBO estimates that those changes to the premium structure would change the estimated credit subsidy rate for the program from -0.4 percent to -0.8 percent. We estimate that under this revised premium structure, the volume of loan guarantees handled by FHA in 2011 would decrease slightly from $240 billion to $232 billion because the increase in the annual premium would deter some borrowers from participating in the single-family program. On balance, we estimate that the revised premium structure would increase offsetting collections (a credit against discretionary spending) from the program by $900 million in 2011, assuming the appropriation action to establish the 2011 commitment authority for the FHA single-family program.

House Report 11-476 on the bill on Thomas is HERE; bill status is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Thursday House Hearing: The End of Excess; Reversing Our Addiction to Debt and Leverage.

Hearing page is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Correction: Hearing Tuesday: Legislative Proposals to Preserve Public Housing.

Correction: Day IS Tuesday, Date is 27th.
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7 A.M. PDT Tuesday April 27th, House Financial Services Committee hearing web page is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Stunner: FHA Commish Says FHA SF Foreclosure Recovery Rate in Michigan is 5%.

On April 21st the House Appropriations subcommittee held a hearing on FHA budget proposals that are part of the FY 2011 Budget. The written testimony of FHA Commissioner Stevens is HERE. (Good background about why down payments are recommended to increase for loan applicants with low credit scores).

Through hearing transcripts made available from a Multnomah County Library electronic reference service (go hug your librarian) there was one statement at the hearing from the FHA Commissioner that was pretty stunning to me.

It occurred in response to question about why Fannie Mae rates of recovery were in the 60% range when FHA recovery rates were closer to 40% . The FHA Commish said that since many of foreclosure costs are fixed, the lower average loan amounts of FHA meant that those same costs reduced recovery %'s compared to Fannie, which had much higher average loan amounts.

The stunner was when the Commish went on to say that recovery rates varied significantly by state, AND, according to the transcript, the FHA recovery rate in Michigan was 5%.

That would mean that for a loan that FHA insured for $100,000 in Michigan, FHA is recovering only $5,000 after net foreclosure costs are subtracted from net sales proceeds. While this may be somewhat a function of low loan amounts and fixed foreclosure expenses, it still is a big WOW!

FHA Reform Bill Marked Up in House Financial Services Committee the Day Before
Also in the transcript Commish said that FHA reform bill had been introduced in House Financial Services Committee on the day before this hearing. Looks like bill was marked in that meeting; eventually those changes should be reflected in updated version of the bill H.R.5072 HERE. (Markup site for this bill and a couple of others is HERE).

FHA CBO Scoring Could Impact Funds Available for Other HUD Programs
Finally there was some reference in Appropriations hearing about the impact that a lower projected FHA surplus received from CBO might have on funds available for HUD FY 2011 budget. That issue bears watching as it could mean lower funding available for other HUD programs.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog

C-SPAN Video of House Hearing Yesterday on Second Liens and Other Barriers to Principal Reduction.

Committee web page for this hearing is HERE; representatives from several banks testified. CSPAN video direct link is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

House Financial Services Sub Committee Hearing Wed April 14th on HAMP Changes.

Web page for this hearing (11 AM PDT) on changes in loan modification is HERE.

Those modifications are described in the fact sheet HERE. [HAMP Q and A are in this 38 page document HERE].

[I was reading the Paulson book on financial crisis last night. Book quotes Sub Committee chair Maxine Waters as telling Paulson that she is going to vote for TARP bill and it better work or, "her ass is grass". Kinda hoping that comes up in the hearing...]

(Note that March recent HAMP monthly report is due also next week).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Housing Preservation Bill Introduced in House, Hearing on March 24th.

H.R. 4868 bill page is HERE. A Section by Section analysis from NLIHC is HERE.

PR from House Financial Services Committee is HERE.

Hearing page for 7 AM PDT, March 24 Financial Services Subcommittee hearing is HERE.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.

Updated:Audio/Video from Panel at Today's House Hearing on Choice Neighborhoods Legislation.

Updated: Alert that I noticed that the video has some synch issues between sound and video. Not sure why this is happening, and no easy way to correct, so keep that in mind before you download.

Some skeptics, and some supporters in this panel that followed the Secretary's lead off testimony that was the subject of my earlier post.

Committee members also expressed some skepticism in their questioning, especially Subcommittee Chair Maxine Waters.

One of primary concerns seemed to be that HUD dollars could end up spending for things other than housing, and that other federal commitments are necessary for education, etc. Another concern expressed was the lack of specificity about what would qualify as a"Choice Neighborhood".

• Internet Archive MP3 AUDIO file is HERE. (Can be listened to on line, if you download it's big at about 100MB's).
• Internet Archive VIDEO file is HERE. (It can be viewed on line or downloaded, and if downloaded file is also very large at 212 MB's).

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.