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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

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 29, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and American Advisors Group (AAG), the largest reverse mortgage lender in the country, announced a collaboration to focus on fair lending to older adults. NCRC will serve in an advisory role to assist AAG with providing Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) to qualified borrowers age 62 and older.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- In advance of next week’s markup of legislation to reform the housing finance system, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) filed two amendments that would help keep more Americans in their homes and protect investors of mortgage-backed securities by assigning fiduciary responsibility to trustees.

MADISON - April 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced that Marathon County Judge Gregory Huber found Jay Fischer guilty of a million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Fischer pleaded no contest to racketeering, theft, fraudulent writings, securities fraud, bail jumping, failure to file an individual tax return, and failure to file a corporate tax return. The convictions resolve two criminal cases against Fischer from Marathon and Waupaca counties

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The The American Land Title Association (ALTA, the national trade association of the land title industry, released the following statement today from CEO Michelle Korsmo in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s report on consumer experience during the mortgage closing process:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 25, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, hundreds of members of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) across the country and other community groups sent a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson and Ranking Member Mike Crapo outlining their concerns with the access provisions in the Johnson-Crapo housing finance reform legislation. The letter, which was signed by over 300 groups, calls on legislators to ensure that reforms to the housing finance system support access to mortgage credit for all creditworthy borrowers, and affordable rental housing. The legislation is slated to be marked up by the Senate Banking Committee on April 29

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today published a report which finds that many consumers are frustrated by the short amount of time they have to review a large stack of complex closing documents when finalizing a mortgage. The Bureau also released guidelines for an upcoming eClosing pilot project to assess how electronic closings can benefit consumers as they navigate the mortgage closing process.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Thank you all for joining us today. We have convened this forum to discuss one of the most significant, yet stressful times in the lives of consumers – mortgage closing time. Mortgage closing comes after the neighborhoods have been scoured. Schools have been evaluated. Countless websites have been perused. Wish lists were made and deal breakers considered. But finally, a home has been found. An offer was made and accepted. The consumer has applied for and been approved for a mortgage – hopefully after careful shopping and thoughtful evaluation of the future. Now it is down to the final hours before the consumer can take ownership of the new home, and standing between the consumer and those keys is a mountain of paperwork

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 10, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received 163,700 consumer complaints in 2013, almost double the amount it received in 2012, and mortgages were the most groused about item, accounting for 37 percent of all complaints, according to the 2013 Consumer Response Annual Report released March 31

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 24, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The new Senate proposal to reform the housing finance system would needlessly make mortgages more expensive and less available, announced civil rights groups today. The goal of housing finance reform is to create a safe housing finance system that provides affordable mortgages to all creditworthy borrowers, including people of color and families with modest incomes and lower wealth. We have serious concerns that the legislation proposed this week does not achieve that goal, the groups said, and we look forward to working with the co-sponsors to improve the bill.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 19, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- NeighborWorks America today announced that $63.1 million has been awarded to 29 state housing finance agencies (HFAs), 18 HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries, and 67 community-based NeighborWorks organizations to provide counseling to families and individuals facing the threat of foreclosure. Although the number of new households facing foreclosure is below the peak seen just a few years ago, many hundreds of thousands of homeowners will still face trouble with their mortgages this year. The foreclosure prevention work done by housing counselors funded by the NFMC program will significantly help these families. It is estimated that more than 167,800 families facing the threat of foreclosure will be directly assisted with this eighth round of NFMC funding

ST. LOUIS - March 11, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage delinquencies continued to decline across the Eighth District during the fourth quarter of 2013, while housing prices were mixed, according to the St. Louis Fed’s latest Housing Market Conditions report.

WASHINGTON (February 26, 2014) – The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown: NAR supports reforms that promote economic growth, but we strongly oppose severely altering the rules that govern ownership and investment in real estate. Real estate powers almost one-fifth of the U.S. economy, employs more than 17 million Americans, and contributes a quarter of all federal and state tax revenue and as much as 70 percent of local taxes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 28, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- Industry groups and energy efficiency advocates applaud the inclusion of the Sensible Accounting to Value Energy (SAVE) Act in yesterday’s reintroduction of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (Shaheen-Portman), S.2074. As the provision will be the largest generator of energy savings among the new additions to Shaheen-Portman, the SAVE Act will help households reap the benefits of investing in energy-efficient homes. The bill’s co-sponsors, Senators Isakson (R-GA) and Bennet (D-CO) have championed the SAVE Act since its introduction in 2011. The coalition would also like to thank additional co-sponsors Boxer (D-CA), Toomey (R-PA), Udall (D-CO), and Begich (D-AK) for their support. The bill’s diverse coalition of supporters includes over 45 organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

BOCA RATON, Fla. - February 27, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- With a growing emphasis on commercial real estate, the evolving real estate industry and luxury real estate, the National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE) offers 25 categories to recognize excellence in the extremely broad field of real estate journalism which runs the gamut from residential, commercial and mortgage finance to public policy, sustainable urban and home design, among others.