FHA promises updates to its renovation programs

Abstract

As part of its plans to address the housing shortage, the Federal Housing Administration is planning to revamp its Section 203(k) home renovation loan, senior Department of Housing and Urban Development officials said. While it's an important product for housing rehabilitation and renovation, it hasn't been modernized in quite some time, and its uses have remained narrow, an official elaborated during a briefing. So it's a priority for the FHA to update 203(k) and make it more useful for today's housing market. Another property improvement product insured by the FHA is the Title 1 loan and its use cases include manufactured housing as well as real property. The agency has updated some of the provisions of how the Title 1 program works to make it easier for lenders to understand and implement, but it is also looking at raising its loan limits to a level that is appropriate to today's housing market, the official said. Discussions about increasing the use of accessory dwelling units to meet housing supply needs have taken place among various stakeholders, and that is attracting the agency's interest. Another initiative involves updating its manufactured housing construction and safety standards, more commonly known as the HUD Code.This proposal will allow production of manufactured homes with features that are demanded by consumers and are more comparable to site-built homes, such as roof pitch designs, open floor plans and multi-unit dwellings.