DAILY DOSE:  FHFA Vows to Keep Fighting HOA Super Priority Liens

By Brian Honea

May 10, 2016

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has reaffirmed its support of authorized servicer reliance on the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008 in foreclosures involving homeowner associations (HOAs) and super-priority liens, saying it will “aggressively” fight any HOA that tries to extinguish a Fannie Mae or Freddie Maclien through foreclosure.

The super-priority lien issue has been a contentious one since it came to prominence following a decision by the Nevada State Supreme Court in September 2014 that allowed HOAs to use super-priority liens to foreclose on homes with delinquent HOA dues—without the permission of the mortgagee.

The FHFA responded in December 2014 with a warning to HOAs that loans with super-priority liens attached would not push mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the secondary position. In June 2015, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada ruled that HOAs could not foreclose non-judicially on GSE-owned mortgages using a super-priority lien.

In August 2015, FHFA stated its support of authorized servicers of GSE loans that rely on the HERA to prevent HOAs from foreclosing on loans insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The FHFA recently reiterated its position in support of the servicers.  Read more:

http://www.dsnews.com/news/05-10-2016/fhfa-vows-to-keep-fighting-hoa-super-priority-liens