Recent results from Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy Report reveals that purchasing a home with a traditional 30-year mortgage and 20 percent down payment is cheaper than renting, but additional fees from the homeowner association (HOA) can make renting seem more appealing especially for New York and Honolulu residents whose HOA fees are considerably higher.
Read More »Quicken Study Shows Division Between Appraiser and Homeowner Estimates
A new Quicken Loans study reveals that appraiser home value opinions fell below homeowner estimates in April according to the company’s Home Price Perception Index (HPPI). Quicken Loans is the nation’s second largest retail mortgage lender.
Read More »HFPC Panel Addresses Servicing Hot-Topics
Mortgage service regulations have not yet fully caught up with significant industry changes over the past five years, according to an Urban Wire blog post by the Urban Institute and author Karan Kaul.
Read More »CFPB and HUD Secretary Castro Address Housing Choice Voucher Program
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued a bulletin to help mortgage lenders evade illegal discrimination against applicants that include vouchers from the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Homeownership Program in their income when applying for a mortgage loan. This type of discrimination may violate federal fair lending protections.
Read More »DocMagic’s eSign Program Reaches 100 Million Milestone
DocMagic announced in a recent press release that its eSign platforms have reached more than 100 million mortgage-related eSignatures. DocMagic provides compliant loan document preparation services, compliance, eSign, and eDelivery solutions.
Read More »Metro Home Prices Increase for Q1 in NAR Report
According to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home prices have increased in the majority of metro areas included for Q1 2015. A high demand for housing along with low inventory levels caused prices to go up significantly and areas that experienced double-digit price appreciation doubled compared to last quarter.
Read More »CFPB Files Suit against Lenders for False Advertising
Nationwide Biweekly Administration, Inc., Loan Payment Administration LLC, and the company’s owner, Daniel Lipsky, are being sued by the Consumer Financial Bureau (CFPB) in federal district court. The CFPB claims that Nationwide falsely advertises the interest savings consumers will achieve through a biweekly mortgage payment program called the “Interest Minimizer” and deceives consumers about the price of the program.
Read More »Lack of Housing Affordability Impacts Economic Growth
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER’s) new working paper “Why Do Cities Matter? Local Growth and Aggregate Growth”, high-productivity markets are not the main contributors to economic growth due to limited housing affordability options.
Read More »Metro Areas Facing Growing Inequality
According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) recent study, rising prices of homes have helped homeowners build housing wealth, but the research found a worsening inequality in homeownership gains in metro areas.
Read More »Mark Mackey Promoted to CEO for IDS
International Document Services (IDS) Inc., a mortgage document preparation vendor, recently announced the internal promotion of their former EVP Mark Mackey to CEO for the company. IDS is a nationwide provider of mortgage documents and compliance. Their services include closing documents, initial disclosures, and fulfillment. The company was founded in 1986 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Read More »