By SCOTT KIMBLER Racial inequity and home appraisals have caught the attention of leaders at the American Enterprise Institute Housing Center in Washington, D.C. AEI is a think tank supported by contributions and designed to keep an eye on policies and trends regarding the U.S. housing market. Leaders there say their goals are to provide transparent and objective mortgage and housing market trends, foster a stable system of mortgage finance that promotes sustainable homeownership, and develop market-based solutions to the nation’s shortage of economical housing. Tobias Peter, research fellow and assistant director of the AEI Housing Center, explained how people have been uncovering racial bias in appraising in recent years, oftentimes making news headlines. “A black homeowner wants to get…
By CHUCK GREEN and KIMBERLEY HAAS The U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing two cases challenging the legality of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan on Feb. 28 and The Mortgage Note is asking the question, why not mortgage debt relief when that is a bigger burden to average Americans? Mortgage balances rose by $282 billion in the third quarter of 2022 and were at $11.67 trillion by the end of September. According to a press release issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan balances slightly declined to $1.57 trillion. Total household debt reached $16.51 trillion in Q3. That includes mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, and student loans. Sarah Paulson, a certified financial planner at Valkyrie Financial…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS With the Federal Reserve raising interest rates seven times this year – and with more rate hikes on the way in 2023 – people are wondering if their policies to cool inflation are unfairly punishing those in the housing market. The Fed’s policy-setting committee raised its benchmark rate a half-point to 4.5% this week. The goal is to reach 2% inflation by controlling monetary policy. The chair of the Federal Reserve opened his press conference on Wednesday saying that he would like to underscore for the American people that they understand the hardship that high inflation is causing. Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy has slowed significantly from last year’s rapid pace. “Recent indicators point to modest…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Homelessness has risen for individuals and people with disabilities, according to the 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report released on Monday by officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homelessness among single individuals increased by 3.1%. The number of people with disabilities experiencing homelessness for long periods of time increased by 16% between 2020 and 2022. The report found 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2022. States with the highest numbers of people who were homeless in 2022 include California (171,521), New York (74,178), Florida (25,959), Washington (25,211), and Texas (24,432). Officials say the Biden-Harris Administration is working to reverse the post-2016 trend of rising homelessness. Their goal is to…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The attorney general of Pennsylvania announced on Wednesday that he is suing Florida-based MV Realty PBC, LLC and its founder, alleging the company scammed consumers. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement that Pennsylvania homeowners are falling victim to hidden terms in the Homeowner Benefit Program. “MV Realty is a scam that exploits Pennsylvanians in vulnerable financial situations, and my office isn’t buying it. My office will protect homeowners’ most important asset – the value of their real estate,” Shapiro said. Shapiro, a Democrat, won the race for governor of Pennsylvania in November. He will be sworn in on Jan. 17 in Harrisburg. MV Realty was founded by Amanda Zachman and has been doing business in…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS A Los Angeles broker convicted of defrauding lenders to obtain more than $8 million in mortgage loans has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison. Alex Ashod Dadourian, 61, was a licensed mortgage loan broker whose company, Success Funding, doing business as Pride Funding, was located in Northridge, California. Investigators claim that Dadourian received more than $254,000 in fees and commissions by taking out 17 mortgage loans based on fraudulent applications and supporting documentation between 2017 and 2019. Dadourian was convicted on 91 felony charges of mortgage fraud, grand theft, identity theft, and conspiracy, according to a press release issued on Dec. 7. “We won’t stand idly by when bad actors take advantage of…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Two Kentucky real estate professionals who allegedly conspired to rig bids for farmland and timber rights each face up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Barry Dyer and Mackie Shelton allegedly rigged the bids for hundreds of acres of farmland and a tract of timber rights during an auction in April of 2018. The auction took place in Allen County, Kentucky. The bidding reached a point where the only participants were Dyer, Shelton, and two men who had leased the farm together to grow tobacco, according to an article by Bill Estep at the Lexington Herald Leader. Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice claim Dyer and Shelton demanded $40,000 from these competing…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Analysts say that being located near certain grocery stores can have an impact on a home’s value. Average houses near Trader Joe’s are $987,923, compared to $891,416 near Whole Foods and $321,116 near ALDI, according to an analysis released last week by ATTOM, a curator of real estate data. Rick Sharga, Executive Vice President of Market Intelligence at ATTOM, said homebuyers consider where they will do their grocery shopping when looking at houses. “It turns out that being located near grocery stores isn’t only a matter of convenience for homeowners but can have a significant impact on equity and home values as well. And that impact can vary pretty widely depending on which grocery store is in…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have ordered leaders at Carrington Mortgage Services to pay a $5.25 million penalty for deceptive acts or practices. CFPB officials say that Carrington, a non-bank mortgage servicer that operates in all 50 states and is headquartered in Anaheim, Calif., violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act in connection with mortgage forbearances. They allegedly found that Carrington failed to implement protections provided to borrowers with federally backed mortgage loans who were experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to a press release. A key provision of the CARES Act, passed by U.S. Congress in 2020, was that mortgage servicers were required to provide forbearances of up to 180 days…
Americans agree that military families deal with more financial stress than the average family. Ahead of Veterans Day, WalletHub looked at the best places veterans can live to reduce that burden. The Midwest and South offer the best places for veterans to live well, according to WalletHub’s 2022 Best & Worst Places for Veterans to Live report. The report analyzed the 100 largest U.S. cities for key metrics related to veterans’ quality of life, including the share of military skill-related jobs, housing affordability, and proximity to VA health facilities. Raleigh, NC, took the top spot for the best place for veterans to live, followed by Austin, TX, and Laredo, TX. Madison, WI, and Tampa, FL, rounded out the top five.…
