HousingWireHousingWire
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) on Tuesday issued a waiver on quality control (QC) reviews for some newly distressed mortgages in Southern California as homeowners continue to grapple with the effects of the January 2025 wildfires.
The FHA typically requires reviews for mortgages 60 days past due within six months of origination to ensure underwriting compliance. But QC reviews will be waived for loans on homes in Los Angeles County — which was designated as a federal disaster area due to the wildfires — if they closed before Jan. 7, 2025, and hit the 60-day delinquency mark between Feb. 1 and July 31, 2025.
“For mortgages that closed prior to the incident period and became EPDs (early payment defaults) in the months after, defaults are likely to be the result of loss of employment/income, property damage, forced relocation and other factors unrelated to noncompliance with FHA single-family origination and underwriting requirements,” the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) noted in the waiver request.
The April 1 waiver announcement came less than a month after the FHA announced an extension of its moratorium until July 7, 2025, on foreclosures and evictions for people impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles County.
California has battled several wildfires since the start of the year, which have destroyed more than 59,000 acres and 16,000 structures as of Tuesday, according to CAL FIRE. Insured losses are estimated at $45 billion.
