News By Edition

Industry insiders have long criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for failing to provide formal guidance about TRID.

But that’s about to change now that the bureau has issued the long-awaited request for information seeking industry feedback on potential changes to the rule.

Read on for more details about how you can have a say on possible rule amendments.

The Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund is performing at a 12-year high – despite rising borrower risk factors. 

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has released its annual report to Congress detailing the economic condition of the MMI Fund as of Sept. 30. 

Read on for details from the report, as well as reaction from new National Association of Realtors President Vince Malta and Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Robert Broeksmit.

HomeStreet Bank recently terminated all of its co-marketing and desk rental agreements and agreed to pay a civil money penalty of $1.35 million for violations of RESPA.

But what was unusual about the consent order that led to those actions was that it came from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., rather than the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Read on to see what legal experts Loretta Salzano, Ken Trepeta and Marx Sterbcow told RESPA News.

But proposed amendments to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) Safeguards Rule would mean a more stringent FTC policy imposing specific measures financial institutions must implement to protect customer data.

Ballard Spahr partners Richard Andreano and Kim Phan spoke at the RESPRO Fall Seminar about how companies should start preparing for these new requirements.

Meanwhile, PennyMac has filed a countersuit claiming the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company’s software is not worth copying. At the center of the dispute is Black Knight’s LoanSphere MSP platform.

Read on for highlights of both lawsuits plus reaction from company leaders.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has intervened in a lawsuit that accuses the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the four largest national real estate broker franchisors of violating federal antitrust laws by conspiring to require home sellers to pay inflated buyer broker commissions.

Read on to see why the DOJ is arguing NAR inaccurately portrayed a 2008 consent decree between the United States and NAR in the antitrust case.

An Ohio woman claimed her servicer failed to timely respond to a notice of error (NOE) regarding complications over who was listed as a borrower on the marital home after a divorce.

The servicer argued it is entitled to summary judgment because the NOE was duplicative. 

Read on to discover how a federal judge ruled in the case, which stemmed over confusion of whether or not the plaintiff’s former spouse was a co-borrower.

Trade groups, lenders and other interested stakeholders are divided on whether the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) should amend its interpretation of the Fair Housing Act’s (FHA) disparate impact standard.

HUD received more than 45,000 public comments on a proposed rule that proposes to better reflect a Supreme Court case which held that disparate impact claims are cognizable under the FHA.

Read on for reaction from the Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, American Bankers Association and more.

In a recent brief filed in a case in California’s Northern District, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau laid out what it considered a reasonable timeline for promulgating a Dodd Frank-mandated rule concerning the collection of small business lending data.

In its reply brief, the CFPB said it could have its first pre-rule activity by November 2020.

However, the brief suggests the path from the release of the outline through finalization of the rule and its effective date could take until 2025.

Lenders are expecting you to utilize technology to aid in your compliance efforts, and their potential oversight efforts. This is why it’s important to have a good compliance management system (CMS). During the National Settlement Services Summit, Sean Burke, managing partner, Mattingly, Burke, Cohen & Biederman LLP, and Marx Sterbcow, managing partner Sterbcow Law Group, shared their insights on what regulators expect and how these systems can benefit your business.

The latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey has found that mortgage delinquencies decreased in the third quarter across all loan types. 

The delinquency rate was down from the second quarter of 2019 and down from one year ago. 

Read on to discover what two factors MBA Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh believes contributed to the lowest level of overall delinquencies in nearly 25 years, and for other key survey findings.

Fourteen states have approved adult use cannabis, while a total of 33 states and territories have some form of comprehensive public legal medical marijuana.

Industry and legal experts weighed in on the expanding state-level legalization of marijuana and its impact on Realtors and real estate markets recently in San Francisco at NAR’s annual conference.

Read on for details from NAR, Cannabis Real Estate Consultants and the California Association of Realtors.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has announced its 2020 president is Vince Malta, a former Realtor of the Year with the California Association of Realtors. Read on to learn about Malta and the other new leaders who were announced at NAR’s annual board meeting.

A borrower accused his title agency of charging for services, which included title and abstract searches, that were negligently performed or not done at all.

The plaintiff, who attempted to refinance his loan believing that he owned the home free and clear of title defects, alleged his title was clouded because of the company’s failure to record the deed within a reasonable time.

Read on for highlights of the magistrate’s recommendation.

Several new technologies are expected to revolutionize the real estate industry in 2020, and real estate agents need to capitalize on them, according to two National Association of Realtor (NAR) leaders. Dan Weisman and David Conroy, NAR’s directors of emerging technologies, led a recent session at the 2019 Realtor Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Read on for details of the real estate industry’s future.

Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) is supporting a proposed law that would extend the 36 percent APR interest rate cap on payday and car-title lenders in the Military Lending Act to cover all Americans. 

The benefits of the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act of 2019 would include making compliance for industry easier and less costly, according to AFR.

Read on for more details about the proposed law.

Cybercrimes involving transfer fraud and compromised records in real estate transactions have skyrocketed over the past two years because of poor security systems and neglectful behaviors.

That’s according to Robert Siciliano, CEO of cyber education firm Safr. Me, who spoke recently at the 2019 Realtors Conference & Expo in San Francisco during a session on data breach prevention.

Read on for more details on Siciliano’s presentation.

U.S. News – Best Lawyers has recognized Butler Snow in its recent release of “Best Law Firms” 2020. The firm received six national rankings, 77 tier 1 metropolitan rankings, 41 tier 2 metropolitan rankings and 20 tier 3 metropolitan rankings.

The former con man who literally wrote the book on fraud now is helping real estate agents and their clients avoid becoming victims of cybercrime.

“Catch Me If You Can” author Frank Abagnale, who has worked for the FBI since being released from federal prison, spoke Friday at the 2019 Realtors Conference & Expo.

Read on to see Abagnale’s advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of wire fraud.

An overwhelming majority of metro areas experienced price gains with very limited inventory growth in the third quarter of 2019, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The study showed single-family median home prices increased year-over-year in 93 percent of measured markets in the third quarter.

Read on to see area-specific statistics from NAR’s report, which also detailed the latest housing inventory numbers.

Carson recently expressed concerned about the sites in a letter to FTC Chairman Joseph J. Simmons and Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Andrew Smith. Read on to see the National Association of Realtors’ thoughts on the issue.

The National Association of Realtors has announced a new exclusive partnership with Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., to offer expanded access to academic programs to association members.

Now, NAR’s 1.3 million members will have an opportunity to complete a variety of associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, including real estate-specific offerings anticipated in late spring 2020.

Read on for more details about the partnership.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has entered into a settlement agreement with a Seattle bank for violations of RESPA. 

The FDIC determined the bank entered into co-marketing arrangements with real estate brokers to market their services together using online platforms, and had desk rental agreements in which the bank rented space in the offices of real estate brokers and homebuilders.

Read on for details on the settlement.

A Wisconsin judge has entered judgment in favor of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against two former mortgage relief service providers and their principals it sued for alleged foreclosure relief scams.

The CFPB filed suit against the companies in 2014 under then-bureau Director Richard Cordray.

Read on for details from the judge’s opinion and order, including how much the businesses must pay in restitution and civil money penalties.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) President John Smaby recently attended a White House event highlighting housing affordability concerns in communities across the country.

Smaby was joined by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson and other senior administration officials.

Read on for details from NAR, which has been providing background and solutions to the White House on a number of regulatory barriers.

Ever-improving mortgage technology leads to a better borrower experience. 

But nothing can replace knowledgeable mortgage professionals, according to a new study by mortgage advisory firm Stratmor Group. 

Read on for details from the company’s 2019 Technology Insight Study, which gathered data on how lenders feel about their mortgage technology, including both their own systems and those provided by vendors.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has negotiated a settlement with a Connecticut housing agency accused of failing to provide accessible units for persons with disabilities and ignoring their requests for reasonable accommodations.

The DOJ alleged the housing authority systematically mishandled reasonable accommodation requests from tenants and applicants with disabilities by failing to document or timely respond to requests for accommodation, among other things.

Read on for details from the settlement.

What happens if someone’s boo-tiful dream home turns out to be a nightmare on Elm Street?

In most states, it is not required that listing brokers disclose the history of stigmatized properties – whether that history includes ghosts, violent crimes or death, according to a new report from Zillow.

Make no bones about it, the National Association of Realtors also addresses this creepy issue, so read on.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its strategic plan to prepare for a responsible end to the government-sponsored enterprises’ conservatorships.

The 2020 Scorecard and Strategic Plan provides a framework for how FHFA will guide Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac next year and beyond to build a stronger capital foundation.

Read on to learn details of the three plan objectives for the enterprises, and remarks from FHFA Director Mark Calabria.

An Oregon couple alleged their servicer failed to reasonably investigate information requests for documents related to extra charges on their note payment history and a bank’s status as the beneficiary deed of trust. 

The servicer argued the suit should be dismissed on the grounds that RESPA does not require total borrower satisfaction with a qualified written request response. 

Read on to see how a judge ruled in the case.

A student-loan debt-relief operation is accused of engaging in unlawful conduct by charging more than $71 million in unlawful advance fees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), along with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, North Carolina Department of Justice and the Los Angeles City Attorney, recently filed an action in a California court to halt several companies from operating.

Read on for details from the bureau’s complaint.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Reserve announced they were proposing changes to the thresholds for exempting loans from special appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans.

Changes to the thresholds for certain consumer credit and lease transactions from TILA and the Consumer Leasing Act are also possible.

Read on for details of the proposed changes.

Read on to see what the National Association of Realtors had to say about the MOU.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have added the traditional Chinese language resources to the Mortgage Translations clearinghouse, which provide a centralized source of industry-standard resources to help lenders, servicers, housing counselors and other real estate professionals serve borrowers with limited English proficiency (LEP). 

The online repository previously included only Spanish-translated documents. 

Read on for reaction from FHFA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  has passed an audit of its data and financial reporting to comply with the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act. 

Read on for details of the audit, which assessed the completeness, timeliness, accuracy and quality of the bureau’s FY 2019 first quarter financial and award data submitted to Treasury for publication on USAspending.gov.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has clarified whether guidance letters issued by the Federal Reserve imposing the framework for consolidated supervision of large financial institutions constitutes a “rule” for the purposes of the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

The GAO recently found that three letters dating as far back as eight years are rules under the CRA and therefore must be submitted to Congress for review.

Read on for details on the GAO’s findings.

Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee are asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to continue to collect all Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data points added in the CFPB’s 2015 final rule. 

The CFPB is now looking to roll back collection of market data designed to reduce housing market discrimination. 

Read on for highlights of the senators’ recent letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.