How Your Company Can Offer PHFA Loans
Participating Lender
To be eligible as a participating lender, the company must be one of the following:
- a properly licensed and legally organized bank, savings and loan, or credit union whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA);
OR - a currently licensed Pennsylvania First Mortgage Banker.
To become a PHFA participating lender, complete the lender application and submit it electronically along with the required documents to PHFA. Links to the required documents are contained within the application and are listed below as well.
- Application for Lender
- Master Origination and Sale Agreement
- Master Origination and Sale Agreement - Fictitious Name Addendum
- 70 Warehouse Lender ACH Information (if PHFA is to fund a warehouse lender)
- 72 Lender ACH Information (Lenders NOT utilizing a Warehouse Lender)
- Lender Information Sheet
- Program Participation Survey
Submitting Your Application
New participating lender applications submitted on or after January 1, 2023, will be subject to a processing fee of $1,200. As a courtesy, the processing fee will be waived for organizations applying to become a PHFA lender for the first time. Organizations that have previously applied or have ever been approved as a PHFA participating lender will be responsible for submitting the processing fee of $1,200. The processing fee is required to be paid prior to receiving the application upload link from the Business Development Unit. Please contact the Business Development Unit for additional details.
When your organization is ready to submit payment for the new participating lender application processing fee, checks should be made payable to PHFA and sent to:
PA Housing Finance Agency
Attn: Homeownership Programs/ New Lender Application
211 North Front Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Submit your PHFA Lender Application and required documents electronically. Please contact our Business Development Unit to receive an application upload link. The application package and any additional information that we may request must be submitted within 120 days of your application.
Once your application is approved by PHFA, a member of our business development team will contact you to schedule training. The training program will be conducted by PHFA staff for all persons who will be involved with originating, processing, underwriting, closing and selling eligible loans to PHFA.
Review Chapter 1 of the PHFA Seller's Guide for more details.
Approved Third Party Originator
To become approved as a third party originator (broker) of PHFA loans, the company must be a currently licensed Pennsylvania First Mortgage Broker or Loan Correspondent.
If your company meets the criteria above, take the following steps to become an approved originator/broker:
- Request and receive sponsorship from a current PHFA participating lender.
- Complete the PHFA Application for Broker and provide it to the sponsoring lender. The sponsoring lender should contact our Business Development team to receive an application upload link to submit the application.
- The application will be reviewed by PHFA. PHFA will provide a Third Party Loan Originations agreement for both parties to execute. The executed agreement must be uploaded by the sponsoring lender for approval.
- All key staff handling PHFA loans must complete the training program which includes loan originations to offer PHFA home loan programs.
Maintaining Approval
To maintain status as a PHFA participating lender, your company is required to recertify by completing the PHFA Participating Lender Annual Recertification Checklist and Recertification Information Sheet, and submitting it with the required documents.
Participating lenders must also maintain certain performance and production standards as specified in the Seller's Guide and be actively engaged in PHFA's homeownership programs.
Additionally, lenders must remit a Certificate of Insurance for their Fidelity Bond and Errors and Omissions coverage listing Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency as a certificate holder, upon each renewal of their policy before it expires.
Submitting Your Annual Recertification
Submit your annual recertification package electronically through the PHFA Pipeline Plus system. Refer to E. VirPack Instructions of the Seller's Guide for uploading instructions.
The recertification package and any additional information that we may request must be submitted before April 30th of each new year.