Archives

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 17, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ramsey Alwin, Senior Director of Economic Security at the National Council on Aging (NCOA), will testify tomorrow before a Senate subcommittee with oversight of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), the federal reverse mortgage program for seniors

WASHINGTON, DC - June 17, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- More than 2.7 million checks, totaling more than $2.4 billion, related to the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) Payment Agreement have been cashed or deposited through June 13, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Auction.com Research Center, which is located at http://www.auction.com/real-estate-research/, provides a range of publicly-accessible macro reports and specific analyses of key residential and commercial markets. It also offers the ability to order additional reports across all markets for both residential and commercial real estate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a vote of confidence for HUD and the HECM program, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013 (H.R. 2167) by unanimous consent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI) rose by 1.5% in the first quarter of 2013 to 155.0, its highest level since Q1 2009. The RMMI, which analyzes trends in the home values, home equity and mortgage debt of homeowners 62 and older, is updated quarterly and tracks back to the start of 2000

Washington, D.C. - June 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its March 2013 Refinance Report, which shows that refinance volumes remained high as mortgage rates rose slightly but stayed near historic low levels. Nearly 462,000 refinances took place in March, with nearly 100,000 completed through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). This brings the number of total HARP refinances to more than 2.4 million since the program’s inception in April 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The former president and chief executive officer of U.S. Mortgage, a loan servicing company in Nevada, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of more than $8 million.

KETCHIKAN, AK - June 10, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rural Development Alaska State Director Jim Nordlund today welcomed U.S. Department of Agriculture Housing and Community Facilities Administrator Tammye Treviño to Southeast Alaska. Administrator Treviño is in the state to discuss a USDA pilot program that allows qualified USDA home loan borrowers, including those in Alaska, to refinance their mortgages and lower their loan payments. She will also meet with local leaders to discuss the USDA StrikeForce initiative. June is Homeownership Month, and the Administrator is visiting several states to discuss home loan programs that are available in rural areas

Washington, D.C. - June 7, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- On Monday, June 17, 2013, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will host a public forum to call upon Congress and the administration to reform our nation’s housing finance system

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published the first update to its exam procedures for the new mortgage regulations it issued in January 2013. The exam procedures offer financial institutions and mortgage companies valuable guidance on what the CFPB will be looking for as the rules become effective. The new regulations include those on appraisals, escrow accounts, and compensation and qualifications for loan originators

Reston, Virginia - June 4, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Below is a monthly summary of major legal decisions involving either the use of the MERS® System database or Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and its role in the mortgage process. Please feel free to contact the Communications Office at MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. with any questions and visit the MERS Newsroomfor a full list of news releases.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- During National Homeownership Month in June, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is telling young people that the time is right to buy a home, and the nation’s builders are building the homes they want.

Reston, Virginia - May 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that a North Carolina State Superior Court Judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Guilford County, NC Register of Deeds, ruling in favor of MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and multiple member institutions.

Reston, Virginia - May 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that Judge William F. Kuntz, II, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. and dozens of MERS member institutions in a suit asserting a litany of allegations surrounding conspiracy and fraud

SAN DIEGO - May 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Home sales increased last month compared to March, according to DataQuick’s April Property Intelligence Report (PIR), yet domestic issues and uncertainty factors continue to stop sales from reaching their full market potential

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Virtually every purchase a customer makes with the card counts toward rebates credited to the principal on their Wells Fargo Home Mortgage loan. These rebates are applied automatically in $25 increments until the mortgage loan is paid off. The rebate can help customers potentially reduce their long-term mortgage interest by thousands of dollars and lower the number of their remaining payments on fixed rate loans. For example, a cardholder with a $150,000 mortgage who spends $1,500 a month on the Home Rebate Card could shorten their payment schedule by more than one year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The final rules issued today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau strike the right balance: they safeguard consumers from abusive practices while helping lenders comply with new mortgage lending standards. The rules address two key issues related to the Dodd-Frank Act’s mandate that lenders assess a borrower’s ability to repay, particularly the standards a loan must meet to qualify as a “Qualified Mortgage.” First, they properly prohibit mortgages with higher fees from gaining Qualified Mortgage (QM) status. Second, they tailor the QM standards for small lenders who hold mortgages in portfolio and for other community-based lenders

Washington, DC - May 30, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- National data show interest rates on mortgages are stable at low levels. Contract mortgage interest rates increased slightly in April—up 0.02 percent from March, according to an index of new mortgage contracts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANIEL MONTEIRO, 34, of Wolcott, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering stemming from a mortgage fraud scheme.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - May 23, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- While Congress considers legislation that would enable FHA to swiftly implement reforms to help stabilize the HECM program, members of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee voiced concerns during a hearing last week about the projected losses attributed to HECM and whether FHA should continue playing a role in the reverse mortgage business