The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is an institution that anyone who is buying a house should know. The question “What does HUD mean?” is a great starting query into a rabbit hole of incredible and useful information.
Here are the basics of HUD and how this information can help you get a great deal on a home.
What does HUD mean?
HUD is an organization that was started in 1937 to aid Americans in their real estate needs. In 1965, HUD became a Cabinet-level agency under the Development of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965. In 1968, HUD gained an enforcement responsibility over housing discrimination after riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. HUD has expanded with programs such as the Community Development Corporation and the Federal Experimental Housing Allowance Program to become one of the biggest government-sponsored entities (GSEs) in the United States.
Today, HUD has responsibility for the housing needs of Native Americans and other underserved minorities in the United States. Most of the programs under the HUD umbrella are directed toward low-income and bad-credit borrowers. HUD programs that serve the low-income segment of the population have included the Urban Development Action Grants of 1977, the HOME housing block grant of 1990, and the HUD Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in 1992, among many others.
Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio, is the current head of HUD, sworn in on July 28, 2014.
What does HUD do?
HUD is an umbrella organization that houses many localized GSEs that serve various housing needs for people in the United States. The most famous of these GSEs is the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).
The biggest purpose of HUD is to ensure the private loans that are given to borrowers. For instance, the majority of FHA assistance to home buyers is not in direct lending; the FHA uses its reputation to serve as a guarantor to a borrower who is seeking a mortgage loan from a private bank. Banks are much more likely to trust a government organization that has the full faith of United States’ financial resources behind it. Borrowers who would otherwise be shut out of the home buying process can get loans because of their lower risk profiles through this insurance.
Does HUD administer public housing?
One of the more controversial applications of HUD is in the administration of public housing, known colloquially as “projects.” Many of the subsidized borrowers who gain home ownership through HUD backing live in these housing projects. Projects have a reputation for being high-crime areas with a relatively low quality of life.
HUD has been politicized, with most of the opposition coming from conservatives with the argument that subsidized housing always seems to provide a substandard lifestyle and actually works to segregate poor people from the rest of the population. Opponents of HUD argue that this segregation, whether intentional or unintentional, flies in the face of the stated mission of HUD, which is to eliminate housing discrimination.
However, HUD administers many other types of properties outside of projects with much less controversy. With an annual budget that hovers around $40.4 billion, many of the other projects that HUD oversees have provided many people with housing, including veterans, indigent adults who aged out of children’s nursing programs, and retirees on a fixed income.
What are the advantages of HUD loans?
Loans that are backed by the government or given directly from a government organization have many advantages, especially those that are administered by HUD or a subsidiary of HUD. For instance, the FHA has the ability to lower the minimum down payment required for a lender to accept a loan application. Instead of the industry standard 20 percent, the FHA offers many programs that can give a borrower a loan with 3.5 percent down. There are also some zero-down payment programs.
One of the most important advantages of HUD programs is the ability to completely bypass the private mortgage insurance (PMI) payment for borrowers who are coming to the table with less than 20 percent. The PMI payment can add over 2 percent to the total price of a loan each year, an amount that can easily turn into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
HUD loans are also a great option for first-time home buyers who do not have a credit history at all. Low-income borrowers who do not have a private guarantor in the family can use HUD as the ultimate guarantor. HUD has provided homes to more than 66 million people per year with an upward trend over the majority of its history, focusing on low-income and bad- or no-credit buyers.
Should I use HUD to get a house?
There are so many programs that HUD administers, you would have a hard time going through them all alone. A reputable real estate agent can help you find the program that best applies to your situation. You may also visit a HUD-approved lender or go directly do HUD itself.
If you have trouble buying a home in a traditional way using a conventional loan, HUD may offer just the program that you need on your side.
2 Point Highlight
HUD programs that serve the low-income segment of the population have included the Urban Development Action Grants of 1977, the HOME housing block grant of 1990, and the HUD Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight in 1992, among many others.
HUD has been politicized, with most of the opposition coming from conservatives with the argument that subsidized housing always seems to provide a substandard lifestyle and actually works to segregate poor people from the rest of the population.
