The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service will cut fees for lenders who use its Single-Family Housing Loan Guarantee Program, according to news reports. Starting Oct. 1, USDA will cut its upfront guarantee fee from 2.75 percent to 1 percent and its annual fee from 0.45 percent of the unpaid principal balance to 0.35 percent.
As reported by the news site HousingWire, USDA said it could cut the fees because delinquencies and foreclosures in the program are at “historic lows.” USDA also said that it will update its guaranteed underwriting system on Aug. 31, which will allow lenders to use either the previous fee structure or the revised one, dependent on processing timelines in particular states.