DU for Government Loans Release Notes
August 2016 Release
July 21, 2016
During the weekend of August 20, 2016, Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) for government loans will be updated to support
FHA related changes, as well as several other messaging and logic updates.
NOTE:
For ease of reference, this document generally uses the term “DU” to refer to “DU for government
loans.”
FHA Required Funds Calculation Change
FHA is modifying how Required Investment from the borrower is calculated – see FHA’s announcement #16-43 here. This
change will only affect amounts DU provides to the FHA TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard (TOTAL) and not the calculations
shown on the DU Underwriting Findings report or how information should be provided to DU.
Because certain fields from the Details of Transaction, such as subordinate financing, are no longer included in the
Required Investment calculation DU provides to TOTAL, those values will now be added to the amount DU provides to
TOTAL for Assets.
DU will apply this change to the following loan casefiles submitted on or after the weekend of August 20, 2016:

Loan casefiles submitted or resubmitted without an agency case number will receive the new calculations.

Loan casefiles submitted or resubmitted with an agency case number assigned on or after August 22 will receive the
new calculations.

Loan casefiles resubmitted with an agency case number assigned prior to August 22 that were underwritten using that
agency case number prior to the weekend of August 20 will receive the old calculations.

Loan casefiles submitted or resubmitted for the first time using an agency case number assigned prior to the weekend
of August 20 may receive an error. Once the loan casefile is resubmitted, the error will no longer be issued.
For loan casefiles submitted without an agency case number or submitted with an agency case number assigned on or
after August 22, a message will be added specifying the amounts of Required Investment and Assets provided to TOTAL.
For loan casefiles submitted with an agency case number assigned prior to August 22, this message will not be issued.
Allowing Gift Funds to count towards reserves on 3-4 unit properties
DU will be updated to include gift funds as reserves on 3-4 unit properties. For loans that receive a Refer
recommendation, a message will be provided advising lenders not to include that gift amount towards reserves in any
manual underwrite. This will be effective for all loan casefiles submitted on or after the weekend of August 20.
FHA Message Changes
The text of several messages will be updated and several messages will be deleted to better align with the Online HUD
Handbook 4000.1. Additionally, a number of existing messages will be moved to new locations within the DU
Underwriting Findings report for consistency and clarity. These changes will be effective for all loan casefile submitted on
or after the weekend of August 20.
Desktop Originator® (DO®)/DU User Interface Changes
The First Time Homebuyer Counsel Type field in the Government section of the online loan application will be changed to
Counsel Type. The value shown in that field of "Not counseled" will be changed to "No HUD-Approved Counseling
Received".
© 2016 Fannie Mae. Trademarks of Fannie Mae.
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Additionally, all references to Fannie Mae’s previous contact phone number in any error messaging will be changed to the
new number: 800-2FANNIE (800-232-6643).
Additional Resources
For additional information, please reference the documents and web sites listed below.
Document Name and
Description
URL
Online HUD
Handbook 4000.1
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/hand
book_4000-1
HUD Mortgagee Letters
http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/letters/mortgagee/
FHA Mortgage Limits
https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm
CHUMS Data Files
http://www.hud.gov/pub/chums/file_layouts.html
FHA Resource Center: Contact
Information and FAQs
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/fharesourcect
r
VA Lenders Handbook
http://www.benefits.va.gov/warms/pam26_7.asp
VA Lenders Handbook – Credit
Underwriting
http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin26/pamphlet/pam26_7/ch04.doc
VA Circulars
http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/new.asp
VA Loan Limits
http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/loan_limits.asp
VA Regional Loan Centers:
Contact Information
http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/rlcweb.asp
For More Information
More information can be found on the Desktop Underwriter page on fanniemae.com. Additionally, lenders may contact
their Fannie Mae account team, and mortgage brokers should contact their DO sponsoring wholesale lender. For
questions regarding VA policies and guidelines, lenders and mortgage brokers should contact their VA Regional Loan
Center. For questions regarding HUD policies and guidelines, lenders and mortgage brokers should contact HUD at 1800-CALL-FHA (1-800-225-5342).
© 2016 Fannie Mae. Trademarks of Fannie Mae.
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