Mortgage and loan insurance programs: Single family mortgage insurance— FHA Technology Open To Approved Lenders (TOTAL) mortgage scorecard use; requirements and procedures; correction,

[Federal Register: January 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 1)]

[Rules and Regulations]

[Page 4-5]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr02ja04-3]

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 203

[Docket No. FR-4835-C-02]

RIN 2502-AI00

FHA TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Interim rule; technical correction.

SUMMARY: On November 21, 2003, HUD published an interim rule to codify the procedures that mortgagees and automated underwriting system (AUS) vendors must observe if they opt to use the ``Technology Open To Approved Lenders'' mortgage scorecard offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This document corrects the interim rule by changing certain references to ``mortgage'' to read ``mortgagee'' and to remove ``FHA-approved'' as a modifier of ``AUS'' in a certain instance.

DATES: Effective Date: December 22, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vance T. Morris, Director, Office of Single Family Program Development, Room 9278, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-8000; telephone (202) 708-2121. (This is not a toll-free number.) Hearing- or speech-impaired persons may access this number by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service number at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On November 21, 2003 (68 FR 65824), HUD published an interim rule providing requirements for the use of the ``Technology Open To Approved Lenders'' mortgage scorecard (TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard, or Scorecard). The preamble to this rule, in the third

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column of page 65824, states: ``Only AUSs developed, operated, owned, or used by FHA-approved Direct Endorsement mortgages, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac will be able to access the scorecard, and only FHA-approved mortgagees will be able to obtain risk assessments using the TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard.'' The reference in this sentence to ``Direct Endorsement mortgages'' should have read ``Direct Endorsement mortgagees'' instead. A conforming change removing ``FHA-approved'' as a modifier of ``automatic underwriting systems (AUSs)'' and changing ``Direct Endorsement mortgages'' to ``Direct Endorsement mortgagees'' is also made to the regulation, at Sec. 203.255(b)(5)(i)(A).

0 Accordingly, FR Doc. 03-29055, FHA TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard, (FR-4835- I-01), published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2003 (68 FR 65824), is corrected as follows: 0 1. On page 65824, third column, the fourth complete sentence under the heading, ``II. This Interim Rule,'' is revised to read as follows: ``Only AUSs developed, operated, owned, or used by FHA-approved Direct Endorsement mortgagees, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac will be able to access the scorecard, and only FHA-approved mortgagees will be able to obtain risk assessments using the TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard.''

0 2. On page 65827, second column, Sec. 203.255(b)(5)(i)(A) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 203.255 Insurance of mortgage.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(5) * * *

(i) * * *

(A) Permissible users. Only automatic underwriting systems (AUSs) developed, operated, owned, or used by FHA-approved Direct Endorsement mortgagees, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac, may access TOTAL, and only FHA- approved mortgagees will be able to obtain risk-assessments using TOTAL; * * * * *

Dated: December 23, 2003. Aaron Santa Anna, Assistant, General Counsel for Regulations.

[FR Doc. 03-32021 Filed 12-31-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210-27-P