News By Edition

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation repealing a law which limited the amount of revenue a title agency or company can receive from or be referred to by an entity that “controls” the agency, or an affiliate of that entity.  Read on for reaction from Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr Partner Francis X. “Trip” Riley III and RESPRO President and Executive Director Ken Trepeta.

A Louisiana borrower in foreclosure alleged his servicer failed to properly respond to his qualified written request (QWR) seeking a loan modification. The servicer argued the plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed because he failed to prove the letter was a valid QWR, and because the borrower did not specifically allege he suffered actual damages. Read on to see how a judge recently ruled in the case.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is asking the industry for input on its five-year plan. The FHFA’s Draft Strategic Plan outlines its goals through 2026. The plan contains a number of objectives  aimed at accomplishing three goals. One goal is to improve affordable housing opportunities and supply for homebuyers and renters – particularly the underserved.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved a conciliation agreement with a Las Vegas landlord and property manager to resolve allegations of discrimination brought by a prospective tenant with a disability. The agreement resolves allegations the duo discriminated against the prospective tenant by refusing to rent a property to her because she had an assistance animal.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties decreased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.65 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest National Delinquency Survey.

Former President Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker on the final day of the National Convention and Housing Policy Summit. The summit, hosted by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, will be held March 14 through 16 at The Ritz Carlton in Washington, D.C.

Think “The Tinder Swindler” is just an entertaining Netflix film? Think again. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, five federal agencies have united to remind the public about the ongoing dangers of romance scams. Read on for more from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit of Insurance Corp., the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court’s judgment which found a loan servicer’s failure to record a borrower’s mortgage instruments and its actions in losing key mortgage documents constituted covered errors under the catch-all provision of Regulation X. The New York district court examined, as a matter of apparent first impression, whether errors in evaluating loss-mitigation options were subject to RESPA’s servicer response requirements.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking comments from the public about fees that are not subject to competitive processes that ensure fair pricing. For instance, the bureau noted that priced into most mortgages are thousands of dollars in application fees and closing costs, which can act as a barrier to homeownership, strip wealth from homeowners accessing their equity through refinancing or home sales and deter some homeowners from refinancing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a study on the numerous financial challenges faced by people who encounter the criminal justice system. The report was the first of its kind done by the bureau. The CFPB found that after controlling for credit score, incarceration leads to a substantial decline in the likelihood of having a mortgage or auto loan.

The owner and former manager of rental properties in Quakertown, Pa., have agreed to resolve a federal lawsuit accusing them of violating the Fair Housing Act when they refused to let a tenant’s girlfriend move in with him because she was pregnant with his son and because the tenant was in recovery from an addiction to alcohol. Read on for details of the settlement from the Department of Justice’s consent order.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has extended the public comment period on a potential rule to address the vulnerability of the U.S. real estate market to money laundering and other illicit activity. On Dec. 8, FinCEN issued its Real Estate Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened access to more than $2 billion in federal funds to help communities equitably recover and improve long-term resilience to disasters and future climate impacts.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has filed a counterclaim against a real estate technology company that is accusing the trade association of antitrust violations. NAR is arguing its reputation with consumers and its own members have been harmed by REX’s “false claims.” NAR is seeking an injunction to permanently prevent REX from making false statements about its services and commercial activities. NAR also seeks unspecified damages and attorneys’ fees.

The American Bankers Association, the Housing Policy Council, and the Mortgage Bankers Association are raising concerns about proposed changes to a section of the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook related to the servicing defect taxonomy. The defect taxonomy outlines the remedies FHA may seek if it finds loan-level defects pertaining to servicing.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposed a new amendment to 23 NYCRR 1, the department’s regulation governing debt collectors and debt buyers, to protect consumers from predatory debt collection practices and scams. DFS said it is proposing the amendment to ensure consumers pay only debts they owe and pay them only once.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $51.4 million in housing counseling grants to 177 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and intermediary organizations. This includes funding to housing counseling agencies partnering with historically Black college and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, or other minority serving institutions.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has published a statement announcing best practices for requesting examination information from supervised entities, and a common authentication solution for secure access to the FFIEC members’ supervision systems. The statement presents the results of the final phase of the Examination Modernization Project in which FFIEC members addressed the feedback provided by supervised entities regarding examination requests and authentication requirements for FFIEC members’ supervision systems.

Pending home sales fell in December, marking two straight months of declines, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). All four major U.S. regions posted both month-over-month and year-over-year drops in contract activity. Read on for analysis from NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has appointed four new members to the Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee. These new members bring the committee’s membership back to the full 12 members authorized by statute. These new members represent the mortgage industry, the real estate industry, consumers, and HUD-approved housing counseling agencies.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Minority Women and Inclusion has released new guidance for small, midsize and large organizations to demonstrate their commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I), taking their size and resources into consideration. The guidance accompanies a new report on D&I within financial services. The report found less than half of entities in the mortgage industry had D&I information available on their public websites or in public documents.

An Alabama borrower who argued bankruptcy would protect her from foreclosure alleged her servicer failed to adequately respond to her qualified written requests. The borrower claimed her bankruptcy proceeding included an agreement the servicer would consider her current on the loan by adding missed payments to the end of the term. However, the servicer claimed its records do not reflect any such agreement.

The Asian Real Estate Association of America has released a new report on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The data in the 2021 State of Asia America report focused on geographical areas where most “mortgage ready” AAPI people tend to live.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide federal disaster assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas of Alaska affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides. The assistance includes immediate foreclosure relief and mortgage insurance help.

Existing-home sales declined in December, snapping a streak of three straight months of gains, according to the National Association of Realtors. But despite the drop, overall sales for 2021 increased 8.5 percent.