800-555-2098
FHA Logo from HUD.GOV – Riverbank Finance LLC is not a government agency.
While the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was not fully closed during the government shutdown, they were running on limited staff for the 16 days of uncertainty. Most FHA Lenders and Banks continued to process and fund FHA loans during this time which has created a backlog of FHA endorsements and questions from these companies.
In response to undoubtedly hundreds of questions, the FHA has released a letter to all banks and lenders to inform them of the status of one of the Nation’s largest mortgage programs:
To Our FHA Stakeholders:
FHA has worked diligently during the 16-day government shutdown to support the housing market, consumers, and stakeholders. We are very pleased to be fully operational and wanted you to know that we will be working hard to bring business back to normal.
During the shutdown, FHA continued to facilitate loan endorsements and certain REO and servicing/loss mitigation activities with some limitations. The majority of FHA-insured mortgage loan products continued to be originated and could progress through the pipeline. And many REO and servicing loss mitigation activities were able to continue with minimal interruptions.
However, since we had a very limited number of staff working during the shutdown, we have a considerable backlog of work. Some of the backlog includes processing HECM endorsements, other cases that must be manually endorsed, condominium project approvals, incoming questions from lenders or borrowers, etc. We are prioritizing the backlog and will be working to address more critical items within 30 days and then to clear our backlog within 60 days. Please allow us time to respond to inquiries already submitted through the FHA Resource Center and the National Servicing Center as duplicate requests will only slow the process.
We appreciate your efforts to work in partnership with us during this demanding time. Together, we can quickly and effectively get back to the business of supporting the housing market. We appreciate your patience.
Sincerely,
Charles Coulter
While the shutdown may have created some backlog and delays, the FHA will continue to operate as usual with little to no delays in loan closings. For questions or concerns on your loan scenario, contact Riverbank Finance at 1-800-555-2098 or submit your inquiry below.