Low housing inventory has resulted in a lack of move-in ready homes available for sale. Many buyers, especially first time buyers, tend to overlook properties in need of extensive repairs, but a federally backed lending program enables buyers to roll the cost of necessary repairs into their mortgage, which can sometimes yield a quick return…
Six federal financial regulatory agencies have issued the final rule that establishes new appraisal requirements for “higher-priced mortgage loans.” The rule implements amendments to the Truth in Lending Act made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act). Under the Dodd-Frank Act, mortgage loans are higher-priced if they are…
Homeowners wary of being taken in by bogus “loan modification specialists” should not assume that a law office is the most reliable way to work with their lender. Consumer advocates say a growing number of fraudulent modification services involve lawyers, or people who say they are lawyers. Increasingly, lawyers are lending “their names, their offices,…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued new rules that define a “qualified mortgage (QM),” which will protect borrowers from deceptive lending practices. The CFPB was charged with drafting and implementing the rules under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to clearly define underwriting goals and other standards that a loan…
Housing activity began to turn around in 2012 and will continue to pick up in 2013, according to Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac. Read the full story
Homeowners having trouble paying their mortgage are often required to write a hardship letter when applying for a loan modification. Such a letter is a requirement for modification applications under the government’s Making Home Affordable program. A hardship letter is not the basis for modification approval – that depends on the borrower’s financials and the…