News By Edition

As the market has shifted from refinances to being primarily purchase-based, the issues RESPA attorneys are seeing also have changed. Instead of lead-generation concerns, clients are asking old school RESPA questions involving marketing services agreements, joint ventures, sponsored events, gifts, entertainment and other more traditional areas. Katten & Temple, LLP Of Counsel Brian Levy, Franzen & Salzano President Loretta Salzano and MLinc Solutions founder and CEO Mark Meyer have more details.

The servicer contended the plaintiff failed to adequately plead his claims for violations of dual tracking and did not provide enough facts concerning his QWR.

Read on to learn more about the case.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced a conciliation agreement between the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and Movement Mortgage LLC, resolving allegations the latter engaged in discriminatory lending practices based on race and national origin.

The agreement stemmed a complaint filed with HUD by NCRC alleging it conducted testing in the Seattle-Tacoma area which revealed different treatment of Black and Hispanic testers and white testers seeking housing loans.

Read on for more information.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acted against the owner of a student-loan debt relief company who allegedly withdrew money from student borrowers’ bank accounts without authorization.

Under this scheme, the owner of a student-loan debt relief company unlawfully debited more than $240,000 from hundreds of student borrowers’ accounts, the CFPB alleges.

Read on to learn more.

The law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP recently launched a podcast where attorneys will discuss the latest legal and regulatory developments and trends that may impact businesses.

The podcast is called Big Law Redefined and its first episode is  “The New Frontier of Fair Lending: 2022 Enforcement Trends and Emerging Risks,” featuring attorneys Lisa Simonetti and Benjamin Saul.

Read on to learn more.

HUD accused Scarlett Place Residential Condominium, Inc. and Brodie Management, Inc. of violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to waive their rule limiting occupants to two persons per bedroom to allow a family of eight to temporarily rent an apartment.

Read on to learn more.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida has entered a consent order resolving the U.S. Department of Justice’s Fair Housing Act claims against a group of individuals and companies accused of targeting Hispanic homeowners with Spanish-language advertising that falsely promised to cut their mortgage payments in half.

Defendants accused in the scheme allegedly targeted Hispanic homeowners for predatory mortgage loan modification services and interfered with those individuals’ ability to keep their homes.

Read on to learn more.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council announced the availability of data on 2021 mortgage lending transactions reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act by 4,338 U.S. financial institutions.

The data are used by industry, consumer groups, regulators and others to assess potential fair lending risks and for other purposes.

Read on to learn more.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking public input on how bank customers can assert their rights to better customer service at big banks.

The CFPB said the decline of relationship banking has deprived some consumers of customized advice, responsiveness and care, forcing some to struggle to obtain basic information from banks.

Read on for more information.

By a vote of 215-207, the House recently passed the Financial Services Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Economic Justice Act (HR 2543) which seeks to hold banks, corporations, and financial institutions accountable for denying access to capital to millions.

Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, called the legislation historic.

Read on to learn more.

The report analyzes post-closing quality control data derived from ACES Quality Management & Control software. Critical defects improved year-over-year.

Read on to learn more.

Snippet: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded $125,000 to support fair housing organizations working to help end housing discrimination.

Read on to learn more.

An Alabama resident claimed a finance company, a bank and its servicer failed to comply with RESPA requirements when it foreclosed on his property following his discharge from bankruptcy. 

The defendants argued they complied with RESPA’s timing requirements and the defendant sustained no RESPA-related damages.

Read on to learn more.

Both the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the American Land Title Association (ALTA) issued statements supporting the finalized equity plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

FHFA said the plans are designed to complement the initiatives outlined in its Strategic Plan: Fiscal Years 2022–2026.

Read on to learn more.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced it has launched an inquiry into practices and financial products that may leave employees indebted to their employers.

In a request for information, the bureau is soliciting data about emerging practices and financial products referred to as employer-driven debt. The CFPB said it is interested in knowing whether consumers have a meaningful choice in accepting employer-driven debt products.

Read on to learn more.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced 83 awards totaling $147 million for affordable housing and community development projects that primarily benefit people with low and moderate incomes in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

A 2017 HUD study found that housing conditions for Tribal households are substantially worse than other U.S. households, with overcrowding in Tribal areas being especially severe.  

Read on to learn more.

The flyers are produced in English and six other languages, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, and Arabic. CFPB said mortgage services may voluntarily provide the flyers to borrowers.

Read on to learn more.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently confirmed that federal anti-discrimination law requires companies to explain to applicants the specific reasons for denying an application for credit or taking other adverse actions, even if the creditor is relying on credit models using complex algorithms.

The CFPB published a Consumer Financial Protection Circular to remind the public, including those responsible for enforcing federal consumer financial protection law, of creditors’ adverse action notice requirements under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Read on to learn more.

The lawsuit alleged the property owners steered Black housing applicants who are elderly or have a disability away from a predominantly white housing complex to a predominantly Black one.

Read on to learn more.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order to terminate Upstart Network from its list of approved “no-action letters.”

Previously, the CFPB had granted special regulatory treatment to Upstart to protect the lender from being charged with fair lending law violations regarding its underwriting algorithm.

Read on to learn more.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Administration will hold a series of events promoting the administration’s efforts to support potential homeowners, increase housing supply and affordability and ensure sustainability for existing homeowners.

A New Jersey borrower who alleged her servicer violated TRID by failing to send notice requirements of assignment of mortgage, transfer of mortgage loan and foreclosure has lost another legal fight. Earlier this year, a judge dismissed the woman’s amended complaint because the borrower’s claims challenging the validity of the assignment of her mortgage and the foreclosure are issues that should have been raised in the state court proceeding.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) announced it supports President Joe Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan. The plan addresses the ongoing housing supply shortage and sets a national strategy to close the housing supply gap in five years. “Latinos are central to the long-term strength of the housing market,” NAHREP Co-Founder and CEO Gary Acosta said.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has published a final rule to amend the deposit insurance regulations for trust accounts and mortgage servicing accounts.

The National Association of Realtors and American Land Title Association praised the Senate’s decision to pave the way for acting Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Sandra Thompson to become the agency’s permanent leader. Thompson, who had been acting director since June 2021, is the first Black woman to lead the FHFA.

The National Association of Realtors and the Urban Institute hosted a policy forum at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss reforming mortgage finance and other policies to make homeownership more accessible to underserved communities.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $10.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2022 formula grants to communities across the United States for housing and community development activities ranging from affordable housing development and public housing modernization to economic opportunities for people with low and moderate incomes.

A class action lawsuit alleging Zillow Group’s co-marketing program violated RESPA is set for jury trial. The online real estate company is accused of misrepresenting its compliance with RESPA and allowing investors to acquire Zillow’s securities at inflated prices during the class period. Zillow maintains it did not provide referrals to lenders, but instead displayed advertising from agents and lenders to consumers.

Attendees at October Research, LLC’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Orlando took time to build Comfort Kits for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida properties. Read on to learn more.

An Indiana borrower filed a RESPA lawsuit alleging his mortgage servicer was unjustly enriched by collecting unnecessary payments. The servicer argued the district court has no jurisdiction to hear the case because the issues were already resolved in a state foreclosure proceeding. Read on to see how a judge ruled.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is encouraging financial service providers to better serve people with limited English proficiency.

Julia Gordon’s confirmation as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration and assistant secretary of housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development met with positive reaction from several trade groups, including the National Association of Realtors and Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Department of Justice has resolved a lawsuit alleging that an Iowa landlord violated the Fair Housing Act by sexually harassing female tenants.