News By Edition

RESPA News listened in while Francis “Trip” Riley, partner at Saul Ewing, LLP and co-chair of the firms’ Consumer Financial Services Group, and James Milano, partner at McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC, gave attendees at RESPRO’s spring session a rundown on the case challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) funding structure and the potential ramifications of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In Community Fin. Serv. of America, LLC, et al. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, plaintiffs challenged a portion of the bureau’s payday lending rule limiting a lender’s ability to obtain loan repayments via preauthorized account access. The plaintiffs made several arguments challenging the way the rule was promulgated, the substance of the rule, and whether the bureau had the authority to enact it. As something of a “throw-away” argument the plaintiffs’ also challenged the rule by arguing that the bureau’s funding violated the appropriations clause of the U.S. Constitution and, therefore, none of its rules are enforceable.

Read on for more details.

The National Association of Realtors, the country’s largest trade association, has outlined its intention to identify candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences, both inside and outside of the real estate industry.

Cenlar FSB, the nation’s leading mortgage loan subservicer, welcomed David Schneider as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Whether a plaintiff’s letter from jail was a sufficient qualified written request was one of the questions the plaintiff asked the court to reconsider in his motion.

The complaint alleged the Virginia Housing Development Authority violated RESPA, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Fair Housing Act.

Read on for more details.

The executive vice president of compliance at ACES Quality Management and the practice leader of Ballard Spahr’s Mortgage Banking Group spoke to attendees at RESPRO’s spring session about what trends they are seeing in fair servicing and lending enforcement.

The two experts highlighted current case law and consent orders that show current regulatory focus.

Read on for RESPA News’ coverage of the discussion.

U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) reintroduced a bipartisan bill to help address the affordable housing crisis.

Specifically, the bill looks to streamline the process for private landlords to participate in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. By removing bureaucratic red tape, the sponsors hope this will incentivize increased landlord participation by allowing higher numbers of vouchers to be used across more neighborhoods.

Read on for more details.

June’s median existing-home sales price was the second highest recorded since the National Association of Realtors started tracking the data in 1999, the organization announced as part of its monthly existing-home sales analysis.

Despite this news, NAR also reported a slight decline in sales, particularly in the South and West regions.

Read on for more details.

Snapdocs’ new integration tool has helped its customers reduce closing times by 1.5 days, the company stated.

The product is a first-of-its-kind, connecting the Snapdocs’ Digital Closing and Notary Scheduling platforms, benefitting lenders and settlement companies alike.

Read on for more details.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced four cities to receive technical assistance through its Thriving Communities Network, an interagency initiative between HUD and the Departments of Transportation, Energy, Commerce and Agriculture, as well as the General Services Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The support provided will aid in transforming communities with new development, transportation improvements, and preserving affordability in high-cost areas.

Read on for more details.

A lender filed a motion to dismiss in a case alleging that it “knew, deliberately ignored, and recklessly disregarded” the fact a large portion of its loans did not comply with agency underwriting requirements and therefore were not eligible for mortgage insurance through the Federal Housing Administration.

The case was brought by the United States on the behalf of a former employee who claims the lender retaliated against her via termination after she raised these issues.

Read on for more details.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI), a credit enhancement tool used to help consumers secure a lower down payment on a home purchase, has been helping homebuyers and the government-sponsored enterprises for 66 years, U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI) stated.

With higher interest rates, elevated home prices, and tight housing inventories, PMI offers some relief to those looking to buy a home in today’s market.

For details from the USMI report, read on.

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, addressed the National Fair Housing Alliance on what the agency is doing to enforce anti-discrimination laws in the housing sector.

“Fundamental to the promise of equal opportunity is an equal chance to share in this country’s prosperity by building wealth through homeownership,” she said.

Read on for more details.

Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com have made commitments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Biden-Harris administration to take actions addressing junk fees on their sites.

The announcement was accompanied by a brief from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research on the importance of transparency in rental fees.

Read on for more details.

Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group is forecasting another rate hike later this month, as wage growth appears to be too high for inflation to near its target rate in a timely manner.

Limited housing inventory seems to be the defining feature for today’s housing market, the group stated. In this update, it also adjusted its economic growth expectations for 2023.

Read on to learn whether the group expects a recession.

CMG Financial, a well-capitalized privately held mortgage banking firm, has hired Courtney Thompson, a leading fintech and servicing operations expert with nearly 20 years of dedicated industry experience.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a policy statement on abusive acts or practices, providing insight into how it analyzes the elements of abusiveness.

While the Consumer Financial Protection Act is usually of little concern to real estate agents, some experts state this policy statement should be on the radar for those who participate in joint ventures.

Read on for more details.

A case study revealed how a low-stress, always-on option for homeowners looking to discuss their mortgage loan with their servicer improved loss mitigation outcomes.

The conclusion came after a multi-year analysis of the service being used during the pandemic and natural disasters to manage customer relationships.

Read on for details from the study.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is requesting information on how it can make its programs more accessible and easier to use.

Industry participants and knowledgeable parties are asked to provide information and suggestions on how programs helping consumers with housing can be improved.

Read on for more details.

SoftPro’s Director of Regulatory Compliance Leslie Wyatt presented a workshop on how to successfully establish a mentoring program at this year’s National Settlement Services Summit, the premier conference in the title industry produced by October Research, LLC.

In a follow-up interview, she shared specifics on what mentoring can do for both individuals and companies.

Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received the date when it will defend its funding structure in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justices will hear arguments as to whether Congress inappropriately delegated its appropriations authority by removing the bureau from the annual appropriations consideration and instead funding it through the Federal Reserve via budget requests.

Read on for more details.

A refinance gone wrong led to two causes of action citing the Truth in Lending Act, RESPA, and California Civil Code §1701. Plaintiffs’ accusations are the misrepresentation of material facts and concealment of and failure to disclose material facts in relation to the loan.

The present issue before the court is whether to grant the plaintiff’s temporary restraining order preventing the foreclosure sale of their home.

Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2022 report on fair lending highlighted what actions the agency took last year to address issues impacting consumers.

As the bureau’s approach to fair lending prioritization is risk-based, its focus was on redlining, assessing potential discrimination in underwriting and pricing processes, assessing whether lenders are illegally steering applicants on a prohibited basis, and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data integrity and validation reviews.

Read on for more details.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), along with seven other Democrat senators, introduced a bill to address the issue of corporate investors buying local homes and driving up the housing prices.

Titled the “Stop Predatory Investment Act,” it is intended to help allay some of the pressure the affordability crisis has placed on the housing market.

Read on for more details.

After requesting industry feedback on the drafted mortgagee letter on the same subject, the Federal Housing Administration published updates to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage requirements related to borrower payments due to mortgagee default.

The changes provide additional notification sources and requirements in the event a mortgagee is unable or unwilling to make requisite borrower payments.

Read on for more details.

An independent mortgage lender and servicer replaced its proprietary customer relationship management system with platform designed by Bonzo, a relationship management automation provider.

The mortgage company’s CEO called the platform “the best [CRM] I have ever seen” and stated he would jump at the chance to invest in the platform provider.

Read on for more details.

National Association of Realtors CEO Bob Goldberg announced his retirement at the close of his current contract, effective Dec. 31, 2024.

Goldberg will close his career after serving 30 years at NAR and more than four decades in U.S. real estate.

Read on for more details. 

The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and nine other housing groups filed an amici curiae brief in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s appeal of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois’ finding in favor of Townstone Financial.

The judge in the lower court held the bureau overextended its statutory reach in asserting the Equal Credit Opportunity Act applied to actions taken before consumers had actually attempted to apply for credit.

Read on for more details.

In a case the judge stated was “unusual,” two borrowers claimed PHH Mortgage Corp. violated RESPA and the Kansas Consumer Protection Act in connection with their mortgage.

The pair alleged there is a still-existing lien on the house, making the title unmarketable, while the loan servicers maintained the borrowers owned the house “free and clear” because the county received and recorded a satisfaction on the mortgage over two years ago.

Read on for more details.

The Federal Housing Administration increased the threshold at which a multifamily loan is considered a large loan, the first increase since 2014. It also announced a policy for periodically reviewing the threshold amounts going forward.

The National Association of Realtors applauded this decision, as the increase reflects the changes the market has seen over the last decade.

Read on for more details.

The Department of the Treasury released data related to the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), showing a substantial increase in the amount of funds used to help homeowners facing financial hardship because of the pandemic.

HAF, part of the American Rescue Plan passed in 2021, has helped hundreds of thousands of families stay in their homes.

Read on for more details.

A majority of consumers still report now is a “bad time to buy” a home, a consistent trend since mid-2021, Fannie Mae’s most recent Home Purchase Sentiment Index showed.

June’s numbers had only a slight month-over-month increase, showing mostly flat sentiment about the housing market amid supply and affordability constraints.

Read on for more details.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency seeks comment on a proposed rule amending its Suspended Counterparty Program (SCP) regulation.

The SCP requires the agency’s regulated entities to submit a report if they become aware an individual or institution with which it does business has been found to have committed certain forms of misconduct within the past three years.

Read on for more details.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division ruled on a RESPA claim arising out of a failed response to a notice of error in 2018.

The defending servicer, Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, claimed the plaintiff did not have standing when she filed the case; the plaintiff contends her second amended complaint cured the alleged defect.

To learn the judge’s holding, read on.

Brian Levy, of Counsel for Katten & Temple; Mark Meyer, CEO of Mlinc Solutions; and Jim Nelson, First American Title Insurance Co. senior vice president, deputy general counsel had a beautiful backdrop in Lake Tahoe, Calif., at this spring’s RESPRO session.

RESPA News listened in as the three shared their perspectives on marketing service agreements and what the industry can do in light of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s renewed interest in the practice and how it relates to RESPA.

Read on for more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s annual consumer response report showed the bureau received fewer mortgage complaints in 2022 than in 2021, while the number of complaints about credit or consumer reporting increased.

Other categories of note amongst the complaints were debt collection, credit cards, and checking or savings accounts.

Read on for more details. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau assessed a $25 million civil penalty to ACI Worldwide and one of its subsidiaries, ACI Payments, related to the companies’ improper initiation of approximately $2.3 billion in unlawful mortgage payment transactions.

Over 500,000 homeowners were potentially penalized through overdraft and insufficient fund fees because of ACI’s actions.

Read on for more details.

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index recorded a decrease in May, with only one of the four measured regions seeing a month-over-month increase.

The other three reported at least 4 percent decreases in the number of contracts signed, indicative of pending home sales.

Read on to learn more.

Fannie Mae appointed a new member to its board of directors who brings decades of enterprise risk management and financial services expertise. 

Read on to learn more about the new board member.