**U.S.** **DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT**

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20410-8000

May 14, 1999

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

FOR HOUSING-FEDERAL HOUSING COMMISSIONER

> TI**-** 469

TO: ALL APPROVED TITLE I LENDING INSTITUTIONS

**SUBJECT:** FHA Connection Lender Approval Functions: Adding Branches,
Maintaining Institution Data, and Determining Recertification Fees

In 1997, FHA inaugurated \"The FHA Connection,\" an interactive system
on the Internet that gives approved FHA lenders real-time access to a
number of FHA systems. To date, FHA Connection\'s functions have dealt
with single family mortgage insurance originations, servicing and
claims. In the future, functions will be added for Title I loans.

This letter announces new FHA Connection functions which will put you in
control of most of HUD\'s data on your company\'s home and branch
offices, and sponsor/loan correspondent relationships. Any change to
Lender Approval data entered into FHA Connection is edited and processed
immediately in HUD\'s Institution database. You will receive a
confirmation or an error message seconds after the data is transmitted.
These updates will be recorded in the Title I Insurance System and the
lender list on HUD\'s web site on the Following workday.

[INSTITUTION DATA]{.underline}

The Institution Profile function allows lenders to correct HUD\'s
records on the following institution data: the corporate office\'s
street, mailing and Internet addresses; phone and fax numbers; the
officer (preferably the COO or CEO) who should be addressed in HUD
correspondence; and the name the company is doing business under if
operating under a name other than its legal name. The first screen in
this function displays summary information about the institution such as
name, number of active branches and FY of last recertification. The
detail screen allows your employees to correct most of the institution
data. You must still write to HUD\'s Lender Approval and Recertification
Division for changes to the company\'s legal name; the state in which it
is physically located; or mortgagee type.

Since addresses can be corrected immediately, on-line, HUD will no
longer accept written requests to correct addresses, other than the
Payee address, the State in which an office is located or an incorrect
mailing address that is preventing delivery of your FHA Connection
Application Coordinator\'s user ID. Changes to these addresses should
continue to be requested by letter signed by a Vice President or higher
official, prepared on company letterhead, and submitted by fax
transmittal to (202) 755-0303.

[BRANCH FUNCTIONS]{.underline}

o [Branch Add]{.underline}

> After remitting the required application fee, lenders can add branches
> through FHA Connection. The branch should be in operation within days
> of being registered with FHA, as it will automatically be terminated
> if correspondence addressed to it is returned as undeliverable.
>
> The branch add function will not be available to Loan Correspondents
> who must continue to submit an application for each new branch
> accompanied by evidence that the institution meets the higher net
> worth required by the addition of the branch (total adjusted net worth
> required is \$50,000 for the home office plus \$25,000 per branch
> office, up to a maximum required adjusted net worth of \$250,000).
> Forms may be ordered through HUD\'s Customer Service Center at (800)
> 767-7468 (from Washington, DC, call 708-3151). Requests may also be
> taxed to (202) 708-2313 or submitted through HUD\'s Online Ordering
> Service which can be reached from HUD\'s home page
> (http://www.hud.gov) by selecting Shortcuts, then
> [Lenders]{.underline} under Partners, then HUD\'s [Handbooks and
> Forms]{.underline} under HUD Resources, then [Forms]{.underline}, then
> Online [Ordering Service]{.underline}.
>
> o [Branch Updates]{.underline}
>
> You can display a list of your branches, either throughout the
> country, in a specific state or in a specific city. After selecting
> one branch, you can correct its street, mailing and Internet
> addresses; phone and fax numbers; the branch manager; or the name the
> branch is doing business under if operating under a name other than
> its legal name.
>
> You can correct branch addresses except an error in the State in which
> the office is physically located. Changes to the geographic State
> should continue to be requested by letter signed by a Vice President
> or higher official, prepared on company letterhead, and submitted by
> fax transmittal to (202) 755-0303. Since the other corrections can be
> made immediately, on-line, HUD will no longer accept other requests
> for corrections to branch office addresses.
>
> o [Branch Terminations]{.underline}
>
> Branches that have closed or stopped processing Title I loans can be
> terminated.

[SPONSOR RELATIONS]{.underline}

Through this function sponsoring lenders can view, add and delete
relationships with loan correspondents. Loan correspondents may view and
delete relationships with sponsors. No fee is required to add a loan
correspondent.

[ANNUAL RECERTIFICATION]{.underline}

Since lenders may view and correct their branch list anytime through FHA
Connection and see on the Institution Profile screen what is required to
complete the annual recertification, HUD will discontinue mailing
verification forms on approved branches to lenders as part of the annual
recertification process. Instead, in the last month of the lender\'s
fiscal year, HUD will send lenders reminders of the due dates for paying
the recertification fee and submitting the audited financial statements.

[AUTHORIZING YOUR EMPLOYEES]{.underline}

If your employees are already using FHA Connection for single family
programs, your FHA Connection Application Coordinator is now able to
grant access. to these new Lender Approval functions to your staff with
a need to view or update this data. Query access may be granted to all
employees; however, add, update and delete access should be limited to
those with the authority to maintain your institution data.

If FHA Connection is new to your organization, the attachment gives
details about system requirements, the role of Application Coordinators
and obtaining user id\'s.

[HELP]{.underline}

Should you have g[eneral]{.underline} questions regarding FHA
Connection, you should call your Homeownership Center.

Atlanta Homeownership Center (1-888-696-4687)

Alabama Georgia Kentucky South Carolina

Caribbean Illinois Mississippi Tennessee

Florida Indiana North Carolina

Philadelphia Homeownership Center (1-800-440-8647)

Connecticut Maryland New Jersey Rhode Island

Delaware Massachusetts New York Vermont

District of Columbia Michigan Ohio Virginia

Maine New Hampshire Pennsylvania West Virginia

Denver Homeownership Center (1-800-543-9378)

Arkansas Minnesota North Dakota Wisconsin

Colorado Missouri Oklahoma Wyoming

Iowa Montana South Dakota

Kansas New Mexico Texas

Louisiana Nebraska Utah

Santa Ana Homeownership Center (1-888-827-5605)

Alaska California Idaho Oregon

Arizona Hawaii Nevada Washington

If you have questions about a service provider\'s transactions, please
call your service\'s representative. If you have questions regarding
Lender Approval functions, you can e-mail our Lender Approval and
Recertification Division at HSG-Lender_Approval@hud.gov or call (202)
708-3976.

> Sincerely yours,
>
> William C. Apgar
>
> Assistant Secretary for Housing - FHA Commissioner

Attachment

[Hardware/Software Requirements]{.underline}

> To access the FHA Connection, you must have the following:
>
> o A personal computer, work station, or terminal with access to the
> Internet via a modem or network through an Internet Service Provider
> or a value-added provider.
>
> o An Internet web browser that is SSL-compliant, for example Netscape
> 3.00 or higher version, or Microsoft\'s Internet Explorer 3.0 or
> higher version.

[Locating the FHA Connection]{.underline}

You can reach the FHA Connection by making a series of selections from
HUD\'s home page (http://www.hud.gov): select Shortcuts, then
[Lenders]{.underline} under Partners, then \"The FHA Connection\" under
Software/Databases/Online Processes. Alternatively, direct your browser
to URL (omitting the quotation marks): \"https://entp.hud.gov/clas\".
Once reached, please add a bookmark for this site.

[User IDs]{.underline}

Each user of FHA Connection is required to have and use a unique
User-ID. These IDs must not be shared or misused. Lender employees will
have one of two types of IDs, either a standard ID or an Application
Coordinator\'s ID. The latter employees control the access rights of
other employees of the company.

[Application Coordinator(s)]{.underline}

Each lending institution shall designate at least one person, but no
more than two people, to be the lender\'s Application Coordinator(s).

*Role:* The lender\'s Application Coordinator(s) will be responsible for
authorizing other employees (who have obtained IDs) for the appropriate
applications and functions that are available on the FHA Connection.
Adding or revoking these authorizations is done through the FHA
Connection\'s ID Maintenance screen. Using that screen, your Application
Coordinator will be able to give employees of your company access to the
different functions (e.g. Add Branches, Update Branches, Delete Branches
or Query Branches), change authorizations if an employee\'s job needs
change, and remove IDs of people no longer in your employ.

*Obtaining Application Coordinator IDs:* The employee(s) you have
designated as Application Coordinator(s) must register through the FHA
Connection web site (see Locating the FHA Connection above). Click on
\"About this Site & Registration.\" Next, please confirm that we have
the correct mailing address for your corporate office (click \"mailing
address,\" then enter your FHA Title I lender ID or Title II mortgagee
ID). If the mailing address is correct, choose the FHA Application
Coordinator Registration form, and complete the form. If FHA has the
wrong mailing address, a Vice President or higher official must request
the correction, in writing on company letterhead (such requests should
be faxed to the Lender Approval & Recertification Division at
202-755-0303 and should emphasize that this is needed to complete an FHA
Connection registration request).

Each Application Coordinator will need to provide:

> Name
>
> Social Security Number
>
> Title I Lender ID (and optionally, Title II Mortgagee ID)
>
> E-mail address
>
> Mother\'s Maiden Name
>
> Desired Password
>
> System Applying for

After successfully completing the form, the system will generate a user
ID which will be mailed to the President/CEO. The President/CEO will
have to give the coordinator their ID when it is received through the
mail. If the President/CEO feels the applicant should not receive this
ID, they may contact their Homeownership Center to have the ID
terminated.

[Registering Other Employees]{.underline}

Once an Application Coordinator has his/her ID, the system will allow
other employees to request a standard ID for themselves.

*Register:* Each employee needing access to FHA Connection must complete
an FHA Connection ID Registration form. This form is reached from the
FHA Connection web site (see Locating the FHA Connection above) ) by
clicking on \"About this Site & Registration,\" then clicking on
standard user ID. Each employee needing an ID must provide:

> Name
>
> Social Security Number
>
> Title I Lender ID (and optionally, Title II Mortgagee ID)
>
> E-mail address
>
> Mother\'s Maiden Name
>
> Desired Password
>
> System Applying for

After successfully completing the registration, the FHA Connection
system will generate an ID. The Application Coordinator will then be
able to retrieve the IDs from the system and grant the proper
authorizations to the individual employees.

*Forgotten passwords:* Passwords will only be reset upon a request
called to your Homeownership Center.

[Accessing FHA Connection]{.underline}

Once you have your user ID, double-click on \"Sign On\", and you will be
prompted for your FHA-assigned User ID. Please note that your Password
is case-sensitive.