By JARED WHITLEY The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) has announced a lending program for minority-owned businesses it calls “Economic Justice Loans,” with the stated goal of helping historically underserved populations build generational wealth. The political-progressive organization’s action raises the question of whether people of color are still being denied access to credit in 2022. “This lending model provides the foundation for hundreds of millions of dollars in additional lending,” NACA’s founder and CEO Bruce Marks said in a press release. “We have learned that if you build it, they will come. NACA’s Best in America Mortgage targeting underserved communities started with a few million dollars in commitments and now has over $20 billion. We expect the same outcome with extraordinary terms…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced over $2.6 billion to fund roughly 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs throughout the country. HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said that access to stable housing is a basic necessity and the safety of a home is essential as the United States continues to fight COVID. “These Continuum of Care program grants, coupled with the historic resources in the American Rescue Plan, will deliver communities the resources needed to ensure that every person in a respective community has the equitable opportunity to a safe and stable home,” Fudge said in a statement released on Monday. The FY 2021 Continuum of Care Competition Awards will provide funding…
The people of the world are watching the horror unfolding in Ukraine, and we at The Mortgage Note want to highlight those in the housing industry who are stepping up to help. News of realtors collecting donations for those affected by the invasion is already spreading. In Winterville, NC, Realty One Group has collected cheer boxes to be donated to Ukrainian refugee children. According to WNCT-TV’s Claire Molle and Courtney Layton, owners Heather Garris and Scott Corbin asked for shoeboxes filled with gifts, toys, and notes for refugee children who fled from Ukraine to Poland. Realtors at Berkshire Hathaway Verani Realty Office in Exeter, NH, boxed up diapers, clothes, and toiletries last week to send to Ukrainian refugees. Mike Cronin…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The CEO of Comey & Shepherd in Cincinnati says there is something to be said for working with realtors and mortgage lenders in person at a time when it seems like more and more of the home buying process can be done from a cell phone. Scott Nelson collects data about what is happening in their market, where the median buyer is 47 years old with a $98,750 annual income. His realtors have been helping people navigate the process of looking for a home through the market’s changes in Ohio, where potential buyers who would use a traditional mortgage are losing out due to a high percentage of cash offers. Nelson estimates that 30% of home purchases…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS A Bel Air megamansion that was listed on the market for $295 million has been purchased at auction by the CEO of Fashion Nova. Richard Saghian, 40, reportedly beat out four other offers for the 105,000-square-foot home. He confirmed he was the winning bidder to the Los Angeles Times. Saghian said the property, with 21 bedrooms, 42 bathrooms, and 7 half baths can never be duplicated. He owns two other houses in southern California, according to the newspaper. “There is nothing else like it. As a lifelong Angeleno and avid collector of real estate, I recognized this as a rare opportunity that also lets me own a unique property that is destined to be a part of…
By JARED WHITLEY Divorce is the number two most stressful event in a person’s life, leading lady Leslie Knope reveals in one episode of “Parks and Recreation,” adding “Of course, marriage is number seven. So, watch out, everyone. It’s all bad.” We face a similar conundrum in the housing market right now. Housing prices have been out of control the last year, and in response, the Fed has announced it will raise interest rates this month. Rates have already surged to their highest point since March 2020 – the start of the coronavirus and its accompanying government damaging overreactions – showing that the salad days of 2% rates on a traditional home loan are over. The question for housing experts to answer…
By DARIA BACHMANN “As a broker, I believe in choice. A broker is supposed to shop around, look for what’s best for the consumer. I don’t want people to coerce me, I try to have freedom as a broker.” That’s the view of Thuan Nguyen, CEO of Loan Factory, who talked to The Mortgage Note about the impact on his company and customers from United Wholesale Mortgage’s anti-competition ultimatum one year ago. UWM’s controversial CEO Mat Ishbia told brokers like the Loan Factory they had to stop working with Rocket Mortgage and Fairway Independent Mortgage if they wanted to keep offering loans from his company. In recent weeks, Ishbia proved his threats were more than mere bullying. He’s taking legal…
By SCOTT KIMBLER Across the country, especially in urban metropolitan areas, it’s becoming as difficult to find a rental property as it is to buy a home. “It’s just going to keep happening,” said economist Roy Black of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. “It is the perfect storm: Supply chain issues, inflation, gas prices going up. It is everything happening from different angles. The middle class, even the upper middle class, is being squeezed. Prices are squeezing the people whose salaries are not increasing at the pace of the cost of living. About the only thing people can do is bargain-hunt until they find something or move farther and farther out where the rents are cheaper.” Elizbeth Rose with Mortgage…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The CEO of California-based America’s MoneyLine is fighting back after being slapped with a $2.8 million lawsuit from lending giant United Wholesale Mortgage. In a statement released on Friday morning, Shawn Nevin claimed that UWM uses illegal, anti-competitive practices. At issue is the “All In” policy implemented by UWM CEO Mat Ishbia. Ishbia said in a Facebook Live message last March that brokers who work with Fairway Independent or Rocket Mortgage could no longer work with UWM. “Mat Ishbia’s ‘ultimatum’ is a blatant and desperate attempt to maintain his company’s grip on the throat of mortgage brokers across the country,” Nevin said. “As he works tirelessly to craft a false narrative around being champions of brokers, his…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Leaders at Bank of America say home loan applications initiated through their Digital Mortgage Experience accounted for 81% of total mortgage applications in 2021. That is up from 45% in 2020. Last year, Bank of America funded $53.7 billion in first mortgage loans through the Digital Mortgage Experience, 2.5 times their 2020 volume. People can use the digital tool to prequalify for loans, apply for a new mortgage, and refinance their existing mortgage. “Clients expect fast, smart digital tools that help make their banking, investing, and lending experience easy and convenient,” Matt Vernon, Retail Lending Executive for Bank of America, said in a statement. Vernon said that the combination of digital capabilities and support from lending specialists…
