Mortgage servicer Nationstar, which does business as Mr. Cooper, agreed to pay a $74.5 million settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state attorneys general and bank regulators for violating a variety of federal laws designed to protect borrowers. Regulators had accused Mr. Cooper of violating the law from 2012 to 2015 by: Failing to identify thousands of loans with existing in-flight modifications and failing to recognize some transferred loans with pending loss mitigation applications or trial modification plans or failing to identify and honor other borrowers’ loan modification agreements.Foreclosing on borrowers to whom it had promised foreclosure holds while they applied for loss mitigation relief.Improperly increasing borrowers’ permanent, modified monthly loan payments.Failing to timely disburse borrowers’ tax payments from…
Vacation homes are becoming just … homes. A new report released by Redfin on Wednesday found that popular second home destinations are becoming full-time residences for homebuyers – including the Jersey Shore, Cape Cod and Lake Tahoe. The top 10 counties where the housing market is heating up the post are overwhelmingly dominated by vacation resorts, while a majority of the bottom 10 counties are home to dense, relatively expensive cities, including New York, San Francisco and Boston. Here are the top 10 markets: U.S. CountyParent MetroAreaMedianSale Price,YoYChangeHomesSold, YoYChangeMedianDays on MarketMedian Dayson Market YoY ChangeShare Homes Sold Above List PriceEl DoradoCounty, CA(Lake Tahoe)Sacramento, CA16%80%16-3142%DeschutesCounty, ORBend, OR18%54%17-2234%Ocean County,NJ (JerseyShore)New Brunswick,NJ23%36%28-3135%BarnstableCounty, MA(Cape Cod)Barnstable Town,MA19%51%33-3326%FairfieldCounty, CTBridgeport, CT33%80%63-1530%Essex County,NJNewark, NJ23%37%35-2257%MonmouthCounty, NJ(Jersey Shore)New Brunswick,NJ23%52%25-1833%RiversideCounty, CA (Palm Springs)Riverside,…
The number of United Shore employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 climbed to 84, according to the Oakland County Health Department – but CEO Mat Ishbia told the Detroit Free Press that the virus is “not being spread around here.” United Shore, a Pontiac, Michigan-based mortgage firm, was slapped with a county health order earlier this month after 53 employees tested positive for COVID-19. Since then, another 31 employees have tested positive, the Free Press reported Saturday. The first case at United Shore was recorded June 29 – and the company is believed to have the most cases of any Oakland County business, a county official told the Free Press. But Ishbia claims it has nothing to do with the…
President Trump said Wednesday that his recent action to rescind an Obama-era housing rule will keep low-income housing out of the suburbs. “I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood,” Trump Tweeted, follow it up with: “Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!” …Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2020 Last week, Trump rescinded President Obama’s…
Warning: This story and the embedded videos include crude and misogynistic language. The head of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts sent a mortgage company executive expletive-filled video messages falsely alleging the man’s wife performed sexual acts on United Wholesale Mortgage President & CEO Mat Ishbia while in college. “Austin, great to see you’re having a great time. Love to meet your wife. It’s amazing that’s the girl who sucked Ishbia’s d*** in college. Way to marry up,” AIME CEO Anthony Casa said in the video directed at Quicken Loans Executive Vice President Austin Niemiec – and apparently distributed to others. In response, Theresa Niemiec – Austin’s wife – filed a lawsuit against Casa, alleging he “published and distributed derogatory, misogynistic and…
Wells Fargo will take a break from offering new home equity lines of credit beginning Friday as credit continues to tighten during the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports. The San Francisco-based banking giant joins JPMorgan Chase in backing off the loans known as HELOCs, which allow homeowners to borrow money against the equity in their houses. “Wells Fargo Home Lending will temporarily stop accepting applications for Wells Fargo Home Lending will temporarily stop accepting applications for all new home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) after April 30,” the company said in a statement shared with The Mortgage Note. “The decision to temporarily suspend the origination of new HELOCs reflects careful consideration of current market conditions and the uncertainty around…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a reminder Monday that borrowers who go into forbearance will not have to repay missed payments all at once if their mortgages are backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. FHFA said the statement was issued to “combat ongoing misinformation” and urged all mortgage lenders to adopt similar policies. “During this national health emergency, no one should be worried about losing their home,” FHFA Director Mark Calabria said. “No lump sum is required at the end of a borrower’s forbearance plan for Enterprise-backed mortgages.” The $2 trillion CARES Act includes a moratorium on foreclosures and the right to forbearance. Forbearance allows borrowers with a federally backed mortgage to put off payments for at least…
The Detroit Free Press wrote a glowing article last week about United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia and his hiring of former Michigan State basketball teammates: Twenty years ago, Ishbia was a walk-on third-string point guard for the Spartans, the human victory cigar on a team that won the 2000 NCAA tournament. Now, he’s the CEO and president of United Shore, a company that has grown from 12 employees to 5,800 in just 17 years. Ishbia has hired five former MSU teammates to work with him, in part because they are his friends — he gets them in the door; it’s up to them to do something with it. But also because they speak the same language and share the same experiences. Those teammates are Adam…
On the same day the government announced 281,000 Americans filed jobless claims last week amid the coronavirus pandemic, United Wholesale Mortgage President and Chief Executive Officer Mat Ishbia declared “Everyone’s winning right now” in the mortgage market. Ishbia, in an interview with Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), lashed out at critics Thursday for spreading “crazy rumors, crazy things” about his business, saying “things here at UWM have never been better.” “I’m sure my competitors and other people in the industry, retail people, would love for UWM to not be strong and love for something to be behind the veil besides that UWM is going to be here for the long term helping brokers dominate,” Ishbia said. See also: Ishbia says UWM avoids…
The federal government on Wednesday ordered a 60-day moratorium on foreclosures and evictions for single-family homeowners with Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-backed mortgages amid the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson announced the moratorium for FHA loans, which directs mortgage companies to: Halt all new foreclosure actions and suspend all foreclosure actions currently in process; andCease all evictions of persons from FHA-insured single-family properties. The Federal Housing Finance Agency also directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suspend foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days due to the coronavirus. FHFA also announced earlier this month that Fannie and Freddie would provide “payment forbearance” to borrowers impacted by the coronavirus. Forbearance…
