News By Edition

 A New Orleans lending operation paid “illegal kickbacks” to a local real estate brokerage by charging artificially high rents for office space, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). In addition, it paid “illegal referral fees” through a lead generation service, the FDIC said in its most recent Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluation of the bank. Sterbcow Law Group’s Managing Attorney Marx Sterbcow offered advice to save other lenders and brokerages from being on the wrong side of the headlines. Read on for details.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has allocated nearly $3 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds to help communities recover from disasters and build inclusive resilience to climate change.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a copyright dispute over floor plans. “The Eighth Circuit’s decision not only puts countless consumers at risk of costly, burdensome litigation for making a floor plan of their own home, but it also strains a key sector of America’s economy and threatens a critical tool of transparency for potential home buyers,” NAR General Counsel Katie Johnson wrote in the brief.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a rule to protect survivors of human trafficking by preventing consumer reporting agencies from including negative information resulting from abuse. The notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on April 8. The public comment period will close on May 9, 2022.

A new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shows few payday loan borrowers are benefiting from no-cost extended payment plans, which are required to be offered to borrowers in the majority of states that do not prohibit payday lending. Instead of using the payment plans, borrowers continue to pay for costly loan rollovers.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making an additional $3.2 million in American Rescue Plan funding available to help HUD’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program agencies combat housing discrimination related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case in which two mortgage borrowers sued their loan servicer for refusing to answer their questions about their loans. The servicer argued it is not required to answer these written questions from its borrowers due to an ongoing foreclosure suit involving the plaintiffs. Read on for the latest in the case.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a report detailing internal disciplinary actions regarding discrimination, retaliation and harassment. The bureau found the number of new equal employment opportunity program complaints within the CFPB increased slightly in 2021. Congress passed the No Fear Act in 2002 to hold federal agencies more accountable for violations of antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the owner and manager of a Milwaukee rooming house with discriminating against a former male tenant because of his sexual orientation and disability. Last year, HUD clarified sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act includes discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Pending home sales slipped in February, marking four consecutive months of transaction decreases, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three of the four major U.S. regions saw contract signings fall month-over-month, with the Northeast being the only area reporting an increase. All four regions registered a decline in year-over-year contract activity.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has kicked off Fair Housing Month 2022. HUD said this year’s theme, “Fair Housing: More Than Just Words,” underscores the Biden administration’s commitment and progress toward advancing equity in housing and securing equal access to housing opportunities for all.

Due to enormous interest, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has extended the deadline for the public to share input and stories on their experiences with junk fees. The CFPB said it hopes to hear from more stakeholders–including consumers and small business owners–from across the financial marketplace about their experiences with fees associated with financial products and services, including mortgage application fees and closing costs like title insurance.

An Ohio man filed a lawsuit claiming alleged defects in the servicing of his loan violated TRID. The borrower alleged the defendants failed to properly apply his mortgage payments or respond to his notice of errors, and misrepresentations and omissions in periodic mortgage statements they sent him violated RESPA and TILA. The servicer filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing it did not misapply any payments.

The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Modified Loan Application Register data for 2021 is now available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s HMDA Platform for approximately 4,316 HMDA filers. The published data contain loan-level information filed by financial institutions, modified to protect consumer privacy.

A Georgia borrower filed a purported class action lawsuit against her servicer, claiming the company violated RESPA by refusing to provide a complete account history after receiving multiple qualified written requests. The servicer argued its responses did provide a breakdown of all charges and credits applied to her mortgage account, and that the borrower suffered no actual or statutory damages as a result of her allegations. Read on for the latest in the case.

Lady luck will make a special appearance at RESPRO’s 2022 spring conference in Las Vegas. The three-day event – which kicks off the evening of March 30 with a welcome reception – will highlight female leadership in the opening session, and why such a presence is imperative to the closing and title industry. Read on for details on other sessions.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has charged a St. Louis landlord with discrimination for allegedly subjecting a female tenant to sexual harassment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has launched a new initiative to focus on financial issues facing rural America. The effort will initially focus on rural banking deserts, discriminatory and predatory agricultural credit, and manufactured housing.

Existing-home sales declined in February, continuing a seesawing pattern of gains and declines over the last few months, according to the National Association of Realtors. Each of the four major U.S. regions saw sales fall on a month-over-month basis in February. Sales activity year-over-year was also down overall.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR), in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, has released a two-part educational video series on the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program, designed to help Realtors better serve veteran and active duty homebuyers achieving homeownership with VA loans.

An Ohio borrower accused her servicer of underpaying her property taxes for years – resulting in a severe escrow account shortfall – and then failing to properly respond to her notice of error requesting an investigation into the matter. The servicer asked that the case be dismissed, arguing it met its duty under RESPA to provide the borrower a statement of reasons as to why the company believed the account was correct.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded nearly $70 million in Indian Community Development Block Grant-American Rescue Plan grants to 49 tribal communities to prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden has stated strengthening relations with tribal nations is one of his administration’s priorities.