The Associated Press reported Jan. 19 that the federal agency that insures a large portion of mortgages extended to first-time homebuyers is raising its standards.

The Federal Housing Administration is raising fees and
tightening lending standards to shore up its strapped finances and avoid a
taxpayer bailout.

The government agency has seen its losses rise with the foreclosure rate.
Its reserves have sunk below the minimum level required by Congress. A
healthy FHA is vital for the housing market because it insures roughly 30
percent of new loans, and is the largest backer of mortgages to first-time
buyers.

The changes, which will go into effect in the first half of the year, “are
among the most significant steps to address risk in the agency’s history,”
FHA Commissioner David Stevens said in a prepared statement.

The FHA does not make loans, but rather offers insurance against default.
Borrowers are willing to pay for the insurance because FHA loans only
require down payments of 3.5 percent of the purchase price — and that didn’t
change.

The new policies, to be announced Wednesday, are designed to bring more
revenue into the agency, while at the same time keeping loans available.

Under the changes, homebuyers will:

—Pay an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 2.25 percent of the total loan
amount, up from the current level of 1.75 percent. A borrower taking out a
$200,000 mortgage would pay a $4,500 fee, for example, rather than the
current fee of $3,500. Borrowers will still be able to wrap these fees into
the total amount borrowed. FHA officials also plan to ask Congress to
increase the maximum annual premium that FHA can charge.

—Need a credit score of at least 580 to qualify. Many FHA lenders already
require a higher score, but there had been no standard requirement across
the program. Borrowers with a score lower than 580 will need a down payment
of at least 10 percent.

The changes come as borrowers with loans backed by the agency have
increasingly been falling into default. More than 18 percent of FHA
borrowers are at least one payment behind or in foreclosure, compared with
14 percent for all loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage lenders “will find the new rules painful but necessary,” said
Howard Glaser, a mortgage industry consultant and former housing official
during the Clinton administration.

There also have been fears that unscrupulous operators have shifted their
business to the FHA after the subprime business went bust. Last week, the
agency served subpoenas on 15 mortgage companies with suspiciously high
default rates for FHA loans, part of a broad crackdown on dubious lenders.

The agency has already taken action against several problem lenders. One of
the nation’s biggest mortgage bankers, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Co.
of Ocala, Fla., was banned from the FHA program in August and filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Another mortgage company, Lend America,
was kicked out in

One Steamboat Place developer Timbers Resorts has formed a business relationship with a Mexican investment group that purchased the Vail Plaza Hotel.

Ferruco Vail Ventures recently announced that Carbondale-based Timbers Resorts will represent the owner in Vail, and will also manage the real estate operations for the remaining inventory in the property’s 38 fractional-ownership condos.

Ferruco Vail Ventures, a family-run investment group based in Mexico City, assumed ownership of The Vail Plaza Hotel and Club Jan. 20. Timbers has a resort in Cabo San Lucas.

“Timbers Resorts is honored to represent and assist Ferruco Vail Ventures in the positioning of The Vail Plaza Hotel and Club,” said David A. Burden, CEO and founder of Timbers Resorts. “Our vision together is to enhance the amenities, services and overall experience for their owners as well as provide a new boutique hotel experience for the returning visitors of Vail.”

Ferruco Vail Ventures and Timbers Resorts are now looking for a hotel management company to run the property.

Timbers Resorts, founded in 1999, is a developer of small, private, luxury resort properties including private residence clubs, boutique hotels, and club communities. Current Timbers Resorts properties include The Timbers Club in Snowmass; Esperanza in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; The Rocks Luxury Residence Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.; Castello di Casole in Tuscany, Italy; The Preserve at Botany Bay on St. Thomas in the US. Virgin Islands; One Steamboat Place in Steamboat Springs; The Orchard at The Carneros Inn in Napa, Calif.; The Villas at Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; and The Links Cottages at Doonbeg in County Clare, Ireland.

A Steamboat home designed by architect Bill Rangitsch of Steamboat Architectural Associates and built by Shea Mangus of Mangus Inc. is featured in the Winter 2010 Edition of Luxe Colorado, available on local newsstands.

The home is situated on a secluded lot bordering Walton Creek in Storm Mountain Ranch. The home is occupied during most of the year, but the owners have withheld their names form the magazine article.

Rangitsch said the design/build team went to Ontario to hand select beams and columns used in the exposed timber frame construction. The beams and columns came from barns, already slated to be brought down. They were hand fabricated by Scottish timber wrights between 1840 and 1860.

The article by Marisa Spyker describes how Steamboat Architectural and interior designer Scot Jordan of Jordan Designs Studio, Ltd., in Denver balanced the couples’ interests in big-game trophies and an elegant interior.

The 8,900-square-foot home has six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms.

The Vail Daily is reporting that residents of the Town of Eagle narrowly voted down the controversial Eagle River Station project, including a Target, Tuesday.

The final results were 1,175 voting against the project and 1,019 in favor of the plan. The newspaper posted the results to its Web page after they became available after 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Town Clerk Marilene Miller told the Vail Daily that about 61 percent of Eagle’s 3,585 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

Plans for Eagle River Station include 552,000 square feet of commercial space with a Target store, hotel and 581 condos on the east side of town.