 Los Angeles Times |
Holder Announces Working Unit on Mortgage-Backed Bonds Fraud
BusinessWeek 27 (Bloomberg) — A new US government unit will investigate misconduct in the bundling of mortgage loans into securities that fueled the housing bubble and contributed to the financial crisis, Attorney General Eric Holder said. Hope for Mortgage Probe Mortgage probe unveiled as foreclosure talks loom Justice Department Unit Issues Subpoenas in Mortgage Fraud Inquiry |
Posts Tagged ‘Announces’
Holder Announces Working Unit on Mortgage-Backed Bonds Fraud – BusinessWeek
Saturday, January 28th, 2012
Mortgage Rates On The Rise After Reaching Record Lows, Announces … – San Francisco Chronicle (press release)
Sunday, January 1st, 2012|
Mortgage Rates On The Rise After Reaching Record Lows, Announces …
San Francisco Chronicle (press release) Mortgage rate research website, BurlingtonMortgage.biz announced that mortgage rates posted on the site are up from the historical low points reached in previous weeks. On Friday, December 30th, 2011, 30 year fixed mortgage rates as low as 3.75% were … |
low mortgage rates – Google News
Government announces £30m boost to green community and public sector projects – Business Green
Thursday, December 8th, 2011 Home Heating Guide |
Government announces £30m boost to green community and public sector projects
Business Green Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said £10m would be ploughed into a new Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF), while a further £20m would be provided to the Salix scheme, which provides low interest loans to schools, hospitals, … DECC announces £30 million for community green schemes UK creates a £10 million fund for community energy projects |
cheapest home loan – Google News
HUD Announces Final SAFE Act Standards for State Compliance
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
The minimum standards for state compliance with the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) were published today by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and are now available via the Federal Register for public display.
“The SAFE Act sets nationwide standards for licensing of mortgage loan originators and is an important step in returning integrity and accountability to the residential mortgage loan market,” said Acting FHA Commissioner Robert Ryan. “All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands have enacted legislation to support this law and our final rule provides clarification of the minimum standards against which each state’s laws and regulations will be evaluated.”
The final rule specifies the criteria under which a state complies with the SAFE Act by putting into place a system for licensing and registering mortgage loan originators. HUD also provides clarification for the terms “engaging in the business of a loan originator,” which fall under the SAFE Act.
“Engaging in the business of a loan originator,” includes those who act as residential mortgage loan originators with respect to financing that is provided in a commercial context and with some degree of habitualness or repetition, according to HUD. Further, the SAFE Act defines “loan originator” to mean “an individual who takes a residential mortgage loan application and offers or negotiates the terms of a residential mortgage loan for compensation or gain,” HUD says in its explanation.
Under the rule, “loan originator” and “business of a mortgage loan originator” do not include those who only engage in loan modifications or are third-party loan modification specialists. For those cases, HUD defers to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority.
The SAFE Act, which was enacted into law in July 2008, requires that applicants for state licenses must pass a written test on loan origination practices and ethics, and that once licensed, originators must continue to meet licensing standards, complete continuing education courses and submit reports on loans originated.
View the final rule setting standards for state compliance with the SAFE Act.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
FHA Announces Appraisal Guideline Changes, Eliminates MAR
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011The Federal Housing Administration announced it will no longer allow lenders to use appraisals of model homes in a subdivision or condominium project to value units under construction.
“As economic instability continues to impact many segments of the economy and the housing market in particular,” FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens wrote in a letter to lenders last week, “it is in the best interest of the [FHA] Insurance Fund … to require an appraisal be performed on each individual unit within a larger housing project to determine the maximum mortgage amount” for that unit.
According to the Mortgagee Letter, lenders historically used master appraisal reports to cut costs and loan processing times and to make sure similar units were being consistently valued. Master appraisal reports used to be good for a year, and in some cases two years. But in 2009 the FHA cut the validity period to four months. That “largely removed the advantages of using MARs,” Stevens wrote in the Mortgagee Letter.
The are effective as of January 12, 2011.
To view a copy of the Mortgagee Letter, see here.