Housing Order Directs FHFA to Waive Income Reverification on Refis

President Trump signed an executive order, "Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People," on Oct. 22. As part of a broader push to expand a title insurance waiver pilot, the order directs FHFA Director Bill Pulte to weigh waiving appraisals, income re-verification, and other documentation for limited cash-out refinances that lower a borrower's monthly payment, along with reducing or eliminating loan-level price adjustments on those same refinances.

• The order directs FHFA to consider waiving appraisals, income re-verification, and other documentation requirements, but only for limited cash-out refinances that lower a borrower's monthly payment.
• It also directs FHFA to consider reducing or eliminating loan-level price adjustments and other Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fees on those same refinances.
• Any savings from these changes have to be passed through to borrowers, and lenders must tell borrowers about them.

We will be watching what FHFA decides here. The order asks FHFA to weigh these changes rather than requiring them, so there is nothing lenders need to change in their process with IR today.