As the mortgage industry contemplates its future, it is time to also consult with housing counselors.
The expertise counselors have gathered during and post-crisis could help lenders and regulators learn from past mistakes and take action for the future, according to insiders gathered at a roundtable hosted by Ocwen Financial Corp.
"As the housing market evolves and continues to recover, the exchange of ideas between housing counselors, mortgage industry decision-makers, regulators and other agency representatives remain critically important,” said Ronald Faris, president and CEO of Ocwen, one of the nation’s most effective mortgage servicers.
The goal to help preserve homeownership and
It all depends “on an open and continued dialogue,” agreed Jim Carr, senior fellow, Center for American Progress and distinguished scholar with The Opportunity Agenda, because resolutions “will require the input, cooperation and collaboration of many diverse participants.”
Roundtable discussions that help "exchange ideas and
The trends housing and credit counselors are seeing in the market and how counseling models could be improved, was among the key market issues discussed at "The Evolving Housing Market: Serving Homeowners in the New Regulatory Environment," a half-day roundtable in Washington.
Representatives from national and community-based housing advocacy groups, the mortgage industry, as well as government and non-government agencies were invited to the roundtable to identify and address "new issues facing homeowners in the shifting housing market."
Participants also focused on how the new mortgage origination market, particularly the qualified mortgage rule and changes in the government insured mortgage requirements, may negatively impact low- to moderate-income families, and how the final rule on uniform servicing standards from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is impacting the foreclosure process and consent agreements.
