Tag Archives: Mortgage Disclosures

The government sponsored enterprises are feeling the heat from Bank of America. A recent filing from BAC targets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, stating that the criteria by which the GSEs are ultimately willing to resolve claims have become more rigid over time. By the numbers, BAC sold an estimated $1.1 trillion in mortgage loans to Fannie and Freddie between 2004 and 2008, and during the second quarter of this year, approximately $121 billion of the GSE-owned loans were in default or more than 180 days in arrears.

Oregon's senior citizens with reverse mortgages will no longer be eligible for the state├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós tax deferral program. The initiative recently announced that reverse mortgage applicants won├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ót be considered for the program. Homeowners already using the deferral advantage were told in July that they are required to reapply for the statewide program no later than July 25. Additional alterations to the program's format include more stringent asset limits, stricter income criteria, and a five-year minimum for prior residency in the qualifying home.

ProTeck Valuation Services and American Mortgage Consultants are teaming up to deliver advanced real estate tools, and ProTeck will now provide real estate valuation and reconciliation via AMC.

The numbers are in, and New York tops the list of states boasting the highest mortgage closing costs nationwide. The results of the Bankrate, Inc. survey demonstrate New York├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós dubious dominance in closing fees for the second straight year. Other high-cost areas rounding out the top five? Texas, Utah, San Francisco, and Idaho. Nationally, the total cost of origination and title fees has risen since last year by 8.8 percent, to an average cost of $4,070 on a $200,000 mortgage.

Joining the ranks of other concerned trade organizations, the Mortgage Bankers Association submitted a comment letter to Treasury Department adviser and nominee Elizabeth Warren, urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consult with stakeholders on closing costs and holding firm on a key question affecting various consumer financial laws. The question in mind concerns the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act and Truth-in-Lending Act, some of the provisions for which the CFPB wants to combine in order to create a uniform mortgage disclosure form.

As it gears up for a formal operations launch in July, the controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to accept comments from the public on the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure program, which it opened to commentary in May. But there is something else unusual about the commentary period. The CFPB wants the public to participate in the finalizations for Know Before You Owe by logging into their social media accounts and literally comment about the rule online. This is in addition to other commentary.

Mortgage lenders across the country have reported layoffs and substantial downsizing, a consequence of heightened regulatory scrutiny, weak job growth, and brittle markets slumbering in the wake of diminishing consumer confidence. Despite a small spurt in refinancing measures and a drop in lending rates to their lowest ebb since the turn of the century, origination loan volume remains low, and lenders are coming to terms with the fact that they will be financing fewer mortgages over a longer-than-expected period.

The Federal Reserve is raising the dollar amount of mortgage fees that triggers additional disclosure requirements under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA). On Monday, the central bank's board of governors published its annual adjustment to the rule, bumping the amount of the fee-based trigger up 3 percent to $611, effective January 1, 2012. Currently that threshold is set at $592.