Who sells loans directly to Fannie or Freddie? The lists shouldn’t be a surprise. Fannie’s top 10, last to first, are Flagstar, AmTrust, BofA, Indymac, GMAC, Suntrust, Chase, Citi, Wells, and Countrywide. Freddie’s are First Horizon, GMAC, Citi, Taylor Bean, US Bank, WaMu, Chase, Countrywide, BofA, and Wells.

On July 14th HUD, and the Federal Housing Administration, will start charging upfront mortgage insurance premiums on their FHASecure program, based on the borrower’s credit score and down payment. Currently, the FHA charges borrowers 1.50 percent of the loan balance upfront and .50 percent annually regardless of their credit standing. Under the new rule for FHASecure loans, FHA’s upfront mortgage insurance premium will range from 1.25 percent to 2.25 percent, and they will operate like most other insurance companies. This premium structure will preserve lower premium costs for FHA’s traditional borrowers, including low-income and minority families who have a strong credit history and save for a down payment.

Did you know that all first time homebuyers (none of the borrowers has a 12 month mortgage history reflected on their credit report within the last 3 years) require pre-purchase counseling for FHA financing? Participation in pre-purchase counseling/first time homebuyer education is required for all first time homebuyers using FHA financing. For a list of acceptable first time homebuyer courses, refer to HUD Approved Counseling Agencies .

Want to do a loan in Sonoma County, CA through Wachovia? Be careful. Unfortunately, Sonoma is considered “stressed” and therefore limited to a 60 % maximum LTV by Wachovia/ex-World!

Radian clarified some earlier announcements. If a loan is submitted as a 95% and the fico is 620-679 and in a declining market, that loan would need to be dropped to a 90% LTV (even with a DU Approve/Eligible or LP Accept/Eligible).  If loan comes in at a 95% and the fico is 680 and above, the borrower would not need to