The National Association of Realtors recently urged the CFPB not to unnecessarily restrict consumer access to credit by effectively eliminating the so-called “mini correspondent” lending channel. In a letter to the CFPB, the NAR said it supports efforts to prevent evasion of the bureau’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rules. However, it also supports access and choice in credit provider channels, including affiliated business arrangements and joint ventures properly established under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. “These arrangements are most often entered into to provide greater service to consumers,” said the NAR. “Capital constraints of small but growing businesses often govern the type of arrangement that is entered into. Mini correspondents are one such arrangement.” The trade group ...
The CFPB issued a report earlier this month finding, more often than not, that owners of manufactured homes pay higher interest rates for their loans than borrowers whose homes were built onsite. “In 2012, about 68 percent of all manufactured-housing purchase loans were considered ‘higher-priced mortgage loans,’ compared with only 3 percent of site-built home loans,” the CFPB said. Two out of three manufactured-home owners eligible for mortgages finance with more expensive personal property (“chattel”) loans instead. That’s good and bad. On the one hand, chattel loans have lower origination costs and quick closing timelines, as the bureau noted. But on the other hand, they also have “significantly fewer consumer protections than mortgage loans,” the bureau said. For example, only ...
In another bid to help mortgage bankers better assess their compliance capabilities, the CFPB has updated its mortgage rules readiness guide to include the Truth in Lending Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act integrated mortgage disclosures, otherwise known as “TRID.” Version 3.0 of the guide, dated September 2014, summarizes the mortgage rules finalized by the CFPB as of Aug. 1, 2014, but it is not a substitute for the rules. “Only the rules and their official interpretations can provide complete and definitive information regarding their requirements,” the bureau reminds. Each rule description includes a hyperlink with additional information, including Small Entity Compliance Guides, which may make the rule easier to digest. The guide consists of four parts: a summary of the rules ...
Bureau Updates Its Reverse Mortgages Guide With Words of Caution. The CFPB has updated its reverse mortgage guide to reflect some recent, potentially important changes to such loan products. The bureau is urging caution, noting such mortgages can be risky and expensive. “It’s a complicated type of loan that works best for homeowners who carefully consider all of their options,” the agency said. One of the highlighted changes limits the amount of money a homeowner can draw from the loan in the first year. “Borrowers often get into trouble by taking a lump-sum payment early on,” said the CFPB. “It may feel great to get a big payment up front, but borrowers can outlive this money – which spells financial trouble for borrowers who live longer lives.” ...
Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch are predicting a solid fourth quarter for jumbo MBS, enough to bring the total for 2014 up to about $8.0 billion when the year is over.
Ending the conservatorships of the government-sponsored enterprises and recapitalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is the “most pragmatic and feasible” solution to facilitate housing finance reform and protect taxpayers, according to a recently issued white paper. In his blueprint for ending GSE conservatorship, Clifford Rossi – adjunct professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park – calls for an administrative solution by recapitalizing Fannie and Freddie and bringing the GSEs out of conservatorship under strict conditions as the next best way of implementing housing finance reform short of legislation. “Conservatorship was...
After a year of searching for a chief executive to head Common Securitization Solutions LLC, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is still looking. But that doesn’t mean the agency has given up. “The search continues,” said a government official close to the matter. “We even have a search firm.” Although the FHFA is keeping a tight lid on information regarding CSS, it’s...
Here's a fact that most readers may not know: the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 grants the FHFA the authority to bring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship.
Supporters of using eminent domain to resolve underwater but performing non-agency mortgages succeeded in placing their proposal back on the front burner in California this week. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to convene in closed session later this month with the city attorney’s office for advice on “anticipated litigation relating to the potential negotiation or adoption of a joint powers agreement with the city of Richmond [CA] to establish a homeownership stabilization authority to assist homeowners with troubled mortgages.” The board opted...
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