The Newsletter for the Top Mortgage Originators |
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What We're Hearing DailyBy Paul MuoloIf Congress and the Bush White House cannot work out a compromise on the FHA reform bill which includes efforts to help 500,000 struggling home owners (by refinancing them into a government-insured loan) then the ball will be in the Treasury Department's court. For months we've been hearing rumors about a still-under-wraps plan where Treasury would oversee a Resolution Trust Corporation-like agency that would purchase and work out delinquent loans. The RTC was the S&L bailout agency that liquidated $300 billion in assets for the government. When the S&L crisis ebbed the RTC was merged into the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation... See Paul's weekly column here. Conference CalendarJuly 16 - 17 September 23 - 25 Featured Buyer's Guide Category:Loan ProcessingClick here to see listings in the Loan Processing category. For online listing info for the Buyer's Guide, Call Steve at 866-752-7966 or send an email to steven.gallego Featured Event3rd Annual Mortgage Fraud ConferenceSourceMedia's 3rd Annual Mortgage Fraud Conference is held at The Rio Suite Hotel in Las Vegas on Nov. 13-14, 2008. This industry-leading National Mortgage News event will provide you with the techniques and strategies to detect, prevent and manage mortgage fraud; monitor your portfolio and identify potential loss exposure as early as possible. Please visit the conference website for more information. Related NewslettersDaily Briefing
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EquityLock Launches Referral Program to Distribute Home Price ProtectionBy James Comtois
So, in the wake of the housing bubble of 2007, a local real estate investment risk mitigation firm has devised a way for homeowners to protect the asset value of their homes. EquityLock Financial, in order to help real estate professionals increase their business while helping homebuyers protect their home equity in a market downturn, has launched a referral program for mortgage and other allied professionals to distribute its Home Price Protection contracts. Read on...Compliance News RecapHUD Extends RESPA Comment Period May 8, 2008Bowing to congressional pressure, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has extended the comment period on its Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform proposal for 30 days.
With Congress in crisis mode, the Mortgage Bankers Association is calling on lawmakers to take care of "unfinished business" by addressing policy issues that have, in some cases, lingered for years. Issuing a 10-point "Agenda to Stabilize the Housing Market," the MBA said at its National Secondary Market Conference in Boston that lawmakers need to step back from their "crisis mentality" and focus on basic policies to steady the mortgage market, help distressed borrowers, and ensure that today's problems don't recur. "We're saying to Congress to be very careful, and don't overreact," MBA senior vice president Steve O'Connor said at a press briefing. The MBA's 10-point plan includes some well-worn items, such as modernizing the Federal Housing Administration and reforming the regulatory structure governing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. But it also backs away from its previous stance that only mortgage brokers should be licensed. Now, the MBA says that with the exception of those who work directly for federally regulated institutions, all individual single-family loan originators should be licensed. "We support the licensing of all people, including direct lenders," said David Kittle, the MBA's chairman-elect. "We've come off that exception." The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org. FHA to Try Again on Risk-Based Pricing May 6, 2008The Federal Housing Administration "in the next few days" will announce a new proposal to introduce risk-based pricing, saying it is "unfair" to balance the long-term viability of the insurance fund on the backs of its lowest-income borrowers.
A Federal Housing Administration bill approved by the House Financial Services Committee last week will fall far short of its goal of helping 1 million at-risk borrowers avoid foreclosure, according to budget analysts. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the FHA refinancing bill (H.R. 5830) would refinance only 500,000 homeowners into FHA loans during the life of the four-year program, when 2.8 million borrowers are expected to face foreclosure proceedings. The budget analysts note that the bill requires holders of first liens to write down loans to about 85% of the current appraised value, and they would have "an incentive to direct their highest-risk loan into the program." Other liens must be extinguished, which leaves little incentive for second lienholders to participate, unless a foreclosure sale is imminent. About 40% of subprime and alternative-A mortgages have second liens. "CBO estimates about 25% of the loans with second liens could be refinanced under this new program," the agency said. FHA Bill Runs Into Snag in Senate May 2, 2008The Federal Housing Administration refinancing bill is on a fast-track in the House of Representatives but has hit a bump in the Senate Banking Committee, where a scheduled May 6 mark-up has been postponed. The House Financial Services Committee passed the FHA refinancing bill on May 1, and the full House is expected to vote on it during the week of May 5. The foreclosure prevention bill provides the Federal Housing Administration with $300 billion in loan commitment authority to refinance "underwater" mortgages. House leaders want to attach the FHA refinancing bill to a larger legislative package that includes FHA modernization and GSE reform bills the House passed last year. The bills increase the loan limits for the FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to $729,750. The package also includes a tax bill that provides revenue bonds to refinance subprime loans and a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Meanwhile, it appears that negotiations over a government-sponsored enterprise bill to strengthen regulation of Fannie and Freddie has bogged down, and Senate Banking Committee leaders will reschedule the May 6 mark-up. Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., wants to tackle the GSE reform and FHA refinancing bills in the same mark-up. Reader SurveyDo you like this newsletter? Could we make it better for you? Should our advertisers continue to support it? Help us find the answers by filling out a quick and easy six-question survey. Thank you! Featured Grapevine ThreadA Grapevine poster asks for suggestions on how to handle a client with a balloon mortgage.Read more. Legal CornerBy Herman ThordsenARIZONA ENACTS CONSUMER CREDIT FREEZE LAW FACTS Effective Aug, 31, 2008 Arizona will allow consumers to "freeze" their credit reports and prevent consumer reporting agencies from releasing credit information to third parties without the express authorization of the consumer. Mortgage lenders and brokers are affected and are allowed to treat an application for credit as incomplete if unable to access a consumer's credit report due to a security freeze. (allregs42108) MORAL Tell the consumer if I cannot get to your credit, then neither any lender nor I can get you a loan. Or first ask the borrower if (s)he has put a credit freeze with any or all of the three bureaus so you are not surprised later.
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATION PROPOSES A DEED THAT WILL TRANSFER REAL PROPERTY ON DEATH OF THE OWNER FACTS AB 250 creates the revocable transfer on death deed, which transfers real property on the death of its owner without a probate proceeding. The bill requires a person have testamentary capacity to make or revoke the deed and requires the deed be in a statutory form provided for this purpose. The revocable TOD deed must be signed, dated, and acknowledged, as specified, and recorded, as specified, to be effective. The deed, during the owner's life, does not affect his or her ownership rights and, specifically, is part of the owner's estate for the purpose of Medi-Cal eligibility and reimbursement. The bill voids a revocable TOD deed if, at the time of the owner's death, the property is titled in joint tenancy or as community property with right of survivorship. The bill establishes priorities for creditor claims against the owner and the beneficiary of the deed in connection with the property transferred and limits on the liability of the beneficiary. The bill establishes a process for contesting the transfer of real property by a revocable TOD deed. (AB 250) MORAL The lawyers' right to work act. It provides exceptions for joint tenancy and community property deeds but what if the title is broken by one party secretly executing a quitclaim deed to convert their joint tenancy share or community property share to tenancy in common and then do the TOD? Interesting question when you think about it. Read on... |
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