Ari Karen | May 24
For those entities that believe they are too small to be impacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, think again.
Herman Thordsen | May 24
A large number of mortgage fraud cases involving allegations of kickbacks, straw buyers or both.
What We're Hearing
John McDermott | May 23
We're hearing about new rules in the works for mortgage and real estate professionals in New York.
Fredric J. Gooch | May 22
The vendor relationship guidelines published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are a vague generalization of what they truly require.
What We're Hearing
Garth Graham | May 22
In the past two weeks I have written about how critical it is for mortgage companies to have an effective customer satisfaction measurement program.
What We're Hearing
Bonnie Sinnock | May 21
We're hearing the jumbo interest-only home loan popular with high-net-worth borrowers is still being made for now.
Roger Fendelman | May 20
The qualified mortgage rule is a special carve-out to the ability to repay requirement.
Ari Karen | May 17
A court found a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board was unconstitutional. This could affect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
What We're Hearing
Brian Collins and Mark Fogarty | May 17
We're hearing that it is going to take a concerted industry effort to get a legislative fix for the QM rule on loan officer compensation.
Herman Thordsen | May 16
On May 8, four men were convicted in a California court of defrauding hundreds of victims in a real estate scam that included fraudulently collecting upfront fees for loan modification services.
What We're Hearing
John McDermott | May 16
Remember that the three most important words in a real estate deal are location, location, location.
What We're Hearing
Garth Graham | May 15
We're hearing from a lot of mortgage originators that read my blog last week about the need to better measure borrower satisfaction with the mortgage process.
Shari Olefson | May 14
At the end of the day, the debate over the future of the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac boils down to one question: What is the appropriate role for government in housing finance?
What We're Hearing
Brian Collins and Mark Fogarty | May 10
We're hearing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be issuing new guidance on loan officer compensation in June.
Ari Karen | May 10
It appears that one of the chief enforcement tools of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the use of the horizontal audit.
Herman Thordsen | May 09
Mary Armstrong pled guilty to all five counts of an indictment charging her with wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
George Yacik | May 09
The Census Bureau recently reported that the U.S. homeownership rate fell to 65% in the first quarter, down from 65.4 % a year earlier, putting it at its lowest level since the third quarter of 1995.
Steve Wiser | May 07
In the modern world, paper documents are an obstacle between servicers and their own potential competitiveness.
What We're Hearing
Brian Collins and Mark Fogarty | May 03
We're hearing that the deck is stacked against Mel Watt, and his chances of being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the new GSE regulator are 100-to-1 at best.
Ari Karen | May 03
The rules provide guidance on how rental income and self-employed income can be considered.
Penny Showalter | May 03
By most statistical models, the majority of the nation’s 7,000-plus community banks weathered the financial crisis pretty well and are growing in most markets.
Herman Thordsen | May 02
There are a series of 17 questions plus comments for the borrower to make.
What We're Hearing
John McDermott | May 02
We're hearing about due on sale clauses, not in the traditional sense where a mortgage must be paid off when a property is sold but rather in other circumstances.
Randy Wussler | May 01
Especially markets hit hardest by the housing crisis are the most attractive options for REO-to-rental investors. But how can servicers and investors identify which markets will achieve the greatest ROI?
What We're Hearing
Garth Graham | May 01
There is a lot of damage a disgruntled customer could make by airing their grievance through social media.
What We're Hearing
Brian Collins and Mark Fogarty | Apr 26
FHA needs to fix Credit Watch so every lender isn’t forced into the same narrow credit box.
Ari Karen | Apr 26
I received a call from the owner of a settlement services company seeking representation because a number of clients had stopped utilizing his services. Apparently this company had recently been targeted by a class action lawsuit alleging illegal kickbacks.
Although the case settled in its initial stages, the complaint filed in federal court was extremely detailed and there were means of verifying at least a portion of the claims. …
Ari Karen | Apr 19
This enforcement action serves as an important lesson to lenders who enter into marketing agreements with builders, title companies and Realtors.
What We're Hearing
Brian Collins and Mark Fogarty | Apr 19
We're hearing that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is sending mixed signals to lenders.
Herman Thordsen | Apr 18
A couple of warnings, specific to California, but could apply in other states as well.
