FHA says as many as 50,000 mortgages will be affected by new lending rules

Two weeks ago, the FHA took steps to limit risk to its single-family portfolio, announcing that it will flag some loans for manual underwriting. FHA’s Chief Risk Officer Keith Becker told the WSJ just how many loans the agency thinks will be affected, adding that the FHA felt that it was appropriate to take some steps to mitigate the risks we’re seeing.

Two weeks ago, the Federal Housing Administration took steps to mitigate risks to its single-family portfolio, announcing updates to its TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard that will flag some loans for manual underwriting.

The move upset a number of lenders who feared that some of their borrowers would be shut out of FHA financing and that borrowers who began the process but no longer qualified under new guidelines would be angry.

Turns out, their fears have some merit.

An FHA official told The Wall Street Journal that approximately 40,000 to 50,000…