Archives

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.

COLUMBUS - May 5, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) encourages first-time buyers to take advantage of multiple savings through the Agency's First-Time Homebuyer program. Qualified buyers receive down payment assistance of up to 2.5 percent of the home's purchase price, a new mortgage tax credit, and a special interest rate reduction of .25 percent on all home loans. The special mortgage rate is limited to the first 250 loans reserved through a participating OHFA lender.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 1, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- In response to public pressure, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced adjustments to its mortgage rules to ensure access to credit for some nonprofit organizations. The proposal consists of two changes meant to help nonprofits continue to provide mortgage credit and servicing to underserved populations

Nashville, TN, - April 30, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Just in time for Spring, Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) has reduced its mortgage loan interest rate to 3.99% (5.71% APR).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 30, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing minor adjustments to its mortgage rules to ensure access to credit. The proposal includes two changes that would help certain nonprofit organizations continue to provide mortgage credit and servicing to underserved populations. The proposal also lays out limited circumstances where lenders that exceed the points and fees cap can refund the excess amount to consumers and still have the loan be considered a Qualified Mortgage.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 30, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) today sent a letter to Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) asking him to enforce the rules for reverse mortgages to help prevent families from being forced into foreclosure after inheriting a home following the death of a loved one.

BOSTON - April 29, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- On the second anniversary of the first-in-the-nation foreclosure prevention program HomeCorps, Attorney General Martha Coakley once again urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to engage in principal reduction as a means to keeping people in their homes. AG Coakley also released the report Rebuilding the Commonwealth: Recovering from the Foreclosure Crisis and Setting the Foundation for Future Success , offering a transparent record of the actions taken during the crisis and documenting the ways more than $850 million was recovered and provided to Massachusetts homeowners and investors since 2007