The Office of Housing is at the center of HUD's mission of enabling home ownership and the financing for both single-family and multifamily dwellings. It also is charged with regulating the housing and mortgage industry. The main operating units of the Office of Housing are:
FHA is now overseen by HUD's Office of Housing, but in fact, it is the oldest major component of HUD, dating back to the National Housing Act of 1934.
The FHA was the first concrete step toward federal involvement in American housing, and was intended to help rebuild the mortgage system - a major engine for the economy and employment - that had been decimated by the Great Depression.
Like the World War II-era GI bill that aimed to put veterans into their own homes, the National Housing Act was a major factor in moving America from an overwhelmingly renter-based society to a society more weighted toward homeowners.
The FHA's role has changed over the years, but today it is the largest mortgage insurer in the world, backing home loans in a way that allows homebuyers to get a mortgage without a massive down payment. Over the years, this has lowered the barriers to home ownership, and allowed those who once rented to enjoy the tax benefits and growing equity available to homeowners.
It provides mortgage insurance on loans by approved lenders for single-family, multifamily, manufactured homes and medical facilities.
Since its creation in 1934, the FHA has insured more than 37 million home mortgages and loans for more than 47,000 multifamily projects. In 2010, the FHA claimed 6.1 million insured single-family mortgages and 13,000 insured multifamily projects.
Single Family Housing Office
The Single Family Housing Office provides mortgage insurance for loans on new or existing homes and condominiums, manufactured housing, houses needing repairs or rehabilitation and for reverse-equity mortgages for the elderly. Important during the 2008-2009 recession are programs that helped "underwater" homeowners - those who owe more on their home loans than the home is worth in the depressed housing market - to refinance to lower their payments.
Multifamily Housing Office
The multifamily program offers mortgage insurance for loans to build, rehabilitate, buy and refinance multifamily housing and health-care facilities.
Office of Regulatory Affairs and Manufactured Housing
The Office of Housing's regulatory wing contains five programs to protect homeowners and buyers, and control real-estate transactions and licenses. These are:
* Interstate Land Sales (ILS) - This program, based on the 1968 Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, requires land developers to make full disclosures about land or lots they are selling or leasing.
* Minimum Property Standards (MPS) - Requires and monitors a set of minimum standards for construction under HUD housing programs.
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