Mortgage industry officials are gearing up to weigh in once again on the mortgage servicing rules the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued back in 2013. Last week, the CFPB released its proposed plan to assess the rules as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The bureau plans to evaluate how adequately its rule has met four key purposes: responding to borrower requests and complaints in a timely manner; maintaining and providing accurate information; helping borrowers avoid unwarranted or unnecessary costs and fees; and facilitating review for foreclosure avoidance options. The bureau plans...
Federal Housing Finance Director Mel Watt this week expressed strong reluctance to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be forced to take another draw on their Treasury line of credit. “FHFA has explicit statutory obligations to ensure that each enterprise ‘operates in a safe and sound manner’ and fosters ‘liquid, efficient, competitive and resilient national housing finance markets,’” Watt testified in a hearing at the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Development Committee. “To ensure that we meet these obligations, we cannot risk...
The Trump administration’s tax-reform plan could boost home sales somewhat, though the National Association of Realtors and National Association of Home Builders have raised significant concerns about the treatment of deductions. At the end of April, the Trump administration released a one-page outline for reforming federal taxes. It calls for doubling the standard deduction to $24,000, maintaining the mortgage interest deduction and repealing the deduction for state and local taxes. William Brown, president of NAR, said the plan would effectively eliminate...
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