Archives

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the US Department of Justice announced a $7 billion settlement with Citigroup; the financial institution will pay a record-setting $4 billion penalty for misleading investors about securities that included toxic mortgages.

Reston, Virginia, - July 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and its co-defendants, affirming MERS’ role as mortgagee as nominee for the note owner.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 14, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Kevin Kelly, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del., issued the following statement on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) draft eligibility requirements that private mortgage insurance companies would have to meet in order to insure loans sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

WASHINGTON - July 11, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the June edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators, including growing equity and a rebound in the sale of new and existing homes. While this scorecard notes positive overall trends in the housing market, officials caution that more work needs to be done as the economy recovers from the Great Recession.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 4, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Justice today announced an agreement with SunTrust Mortgage Inc. that resolves a criminal investigation of SunTrust’s administration of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with 49 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia’s attorney general have reached a $968 million agreement with SunTrust Mortgage Inc. (SunTrust) to address mortgage origination, servicing, and foreclosure abuses.

Washington, DC - June 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- National Homeownership Month is the ideal time to remind Americans that owning a home represents much more than a mortgage. Tia Early, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC) Professional Achievement and Counseling Excellence (PACE) Housing Client of the Year, is the picture of what a mother will do to provide a home for her son, redefining perseverance along the way.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 29, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered RealtySouth, the largest real estate firm in Alabama, to pay $500,000 for inadequate disclosures that could leave consumers unaware of their rights to choose service providers during the home-buying process. The practices identified by the CFPB’s investigation illegally benefited TitleSouth LLC, an affiliated company owned by the same holding company that owns RealtySouth.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Trade Commission, through an administrator, is mailing checks totaling nearly $3 million to over 6,300 consumers who were victims of a mortgage relief scheme. Using names such as Prime Legal Plans and Reaching U Network, the defendants allegedly made false promises that they could help consumers save their homes from foreclosure or lower their mortgage payments

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee voted 13-9 to approved S. 1217, a bill to reform the nation’s housing finance system. The bill winds down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, replacing them with a system whereby a new government entity will issue mortgage backed securities that will carry a government guarantee standing behind prescribed levels of private insurance

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Six Miami-area residents, including three former loan officers, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida this week to participating in a fraudulent scheme designed to enrich real estate developers by selling condominium units to straw buyers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Any mortgage finance reform needs to prioritize access to credit and affordability for all creditworthy borrowers – and that’s not what we see in the bill that passed the Senate Banking Committee today

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The following is a statement by Pamela H. Patenaude, Director of Housing Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, on the Federal Housing Administration’s Blueprint for Action:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Slightly lower median home prices along with steady mortgage rates contributed to higher housing affordability in the first quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today

WASHINGTON - May 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Homeownership is expected to retain its political luster through the 2014 election cycle, even as lawmakers struggle to reach consensus on major policy issues like immigration and healthcare, said two top political strategists at today’s Federal Legislative and Political Forum during the Realtor® Party Convention & Trade Expo

Reston, Virginia, - May 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the United States District Court of New Hampshire granted MERS’ motion to dismiss a wrongful foreclosure lawsuit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 15, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A new set of reports from Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, shows that the nation’s largest mortgage servicers are in compliance with the 29 original metrics of the NMS servicing rules. The report also contains the first test results for Green Tree and shows they failed eight metrics.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 12, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, U.S. Representative Gary Peters (D-MI) joined his colleagues Representatives Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Peter Welch (D-VT), David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter King (R-NY) to introduce the Sensible Accounting to Value Energy (SAVE) Act. The SAVE Act, supported by the National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, brings our nation’s mortgage industry into the 21st century by providing lower rate mortgage financing for homeowners and builders to make cost effective energy improvements to their homes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a snapshot report spotlighting the mortgage debt challenges faced by a growing number of older Americans. These challenges include more mortgage debt, less affordable housing, and greater risk of foreclosure. The CFPB is also issuing a consumer advisory today reminding older consumers approaching retirement to think about their mortgage pay-off date and to consider their retirement income and expenses

Reston, Virginia, - May 7, 201 - (RealEstateRama) --MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced the United States District Court for the District of Montana Missoula Division adopted in full the findings and recommendations by United States Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, confirming Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.’s (MERS) authority as the nominee to act on behalf of the beneficiary.