Mortgage

WASHINGTON - December 8, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced the agency's news schedule of loan limits for 2015. These loan limits are effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2015, and will remain in effect through the end of the year. Read FHA's mortgagee letter detailing the agency's new loan limits

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal jury convicted three Miami real estate developers today for their roles in a $20 million mortgage fraud scheme involving the sale of condominium units in the Miami area.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 31, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and other consumer advocacy organizations submitted a joint comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding the proposed modifications to Regulation C, which will implement changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The letter applauds the expanded collection of data elements and urges the public release of the new data elements, particularly those that do not pose privacy risks, without delay

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 30, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) submitted a comment letter Wednesday to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the Bureau) concerning the Bureau’s proposed amendments to Regulation C, or the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)

WASHINGTON - October 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced this month that it has guaranteed 21 million home loans since the Home Loan Guaranty program was established in 1944 as part of the original Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the “GI Bill.” This achievement comes during the year-long commemoration of 70 years of the “GI Bill,” which established a wide range of benefits for Veterans returning from World War II, including low-cost home loans, education and vocational training.

Washington, D.C. - October 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced today that the Connecticut Department of Banking and the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit began using the National SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) Test with Uniform State Content on October 1, 2014. This brings the total number of state agencies using the test to 45

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 27, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The nation's mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer home mortgages to consumers with as little as 3% down payments, close to what the federally backed mortgage insurance giants offered before the financial collapse, according to a new report by MortgageRatesFast.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 27, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announces plans to expand home buyers' access to mortgages by loosening up lending standards. FHFA said it will release guidelines by the end of November to allow increased lending to borrowers with down payments as low as 3 percent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 27, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- A federal district court in Southern California has ordered a judgment of nearly $515,000 against Mark Nagy Atalla, a defendant in a 2013 Federal Trade Commission action targeting deceptive mortgage and debt relief pitches. The court imposed the judgment after finding Atalla had hid assets and misrepresented his financial condition to the agency. The judgment originally was suspended in Atalla’s settlement order with the Commission, based on his supposed inability to pay.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 21, 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 today’s announcement by six federal regulators to establish new rules for a qualified residential mortgage that would exempt securitizers from retaining 5 percent of the credit risk on loans packaged and sold as securities:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 10, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Tight mortgage lending standards continue to affect sales for single-family builders across the nation, according to a survey released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Well over half of the single-family builders surveyed indicated that lending standards were “tight” or “very tight,” while only 11 percent indicated that standards were “somewhat easy” and no builders described them as “very easy.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - October 7, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI), a quarterly measure that analyzes trends in home values, home equity, and mortgage debt held by homeowners 62 and older, reached 178.91 during the second quarter of 2014, its highest level since Q4 2007

Washington, DC - September 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, in reaction to the release of 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 23, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today announced the availability of data on mortgage lending transactions at 7,190 U.S. financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Covered institutions include banks, savings associations, credit unions, and mortgage companies. The HMDA data made available today cover 2013 lending activity, and include applications, originations, purchases and sales of loans, denials, and other actions related to applications

Washington, DC - September 18, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and Urban Financial of America, LLC (UFA), one of the largest reverse mortgage lenders in the country, announced a collaboration to focus on fair lending to older adults. NCRC will serve in an advisory role to assist UFA with providing Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) to qualified borrowers age 62 and older

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 17, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Administration is overhauling a long-held policy of charging extra interest payments on loans it insures to borrowers who have already paid off the principal debts on their mortgages.

Washington, D.C. - September 5, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) announced this week that the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit (the Department) has received a certificate of accreditation for mortgage supervision. This accreditation certifies that the Department maintains the highest standards and practices in mortgage supervision set by the CSBS and AARMR Mortgage Accreditation Program

Reston, Virginia, - September 2, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the Superior Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of the foreclosing mortgage holder and rejected the appellant’s wrongful foreclosure claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. - August 29, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The owner of a Florida mortgage company, seven employees of the company and two real estate developers were indicted in the Southern District of Florida in connection with an alleged $50 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Reston, Virginia, - August 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota issued rulings in three cases that are favorable to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS). The court held that the foreclosing entities who were the named defendants in the cases established unbroken chains of title under Minnesota law by producing mortgages in which MERS was named the original mortgagee and subsequent assignments by MERS to the foreclosing entities. The plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the assignments by MERS and, based upon the unbroken chains of title, the foreclosures were proper.