By Taylor Stork, President CHLA and EVP, COO Developer’s Mortgage Company and Kelly Welch, Executive Vice President, Equity Resources, Inc.
When a consumer goes into the market to obtain a mortgage loan, they enjoy consumer protections that are arguably more extensive and specific than any other financial product.
A few examples: TRID requirements for disclosures which hold lenders to early fee estimates, RESPA prohibitions against charging for services not provided, and LO Comp prohibitions on loan originators steering loans or varying their fee based on how much they think the borrower would pay.
The same is true for the servicing of mortgage loans. Servicers must follow detailed rules, and for the two-thirds of loans that are “federal agency loans” (FHA,…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association said they are pushing for clarity and common sense as he criticized policymakers this week during his remarks at the Secondary and Capital Markets Conference and Expo in New York City.
Bob Broeksmit said policymakers plan to pile on more enforcement and red tape at a time when MBA member businesses are struggling.
“There seems to be a sense, at the highest levels of government, that the mortgage industry needs to be reined in,” Broeksmit said, according to his prepared remarks.
Broeksmit referred to the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank saying some policymakers are now pushing for new rules that could…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are warning shoppers about pay-to-play mortgage comparison shopping platforms.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement on Tuesday that given current mortgage interest rates, it is important for homebuyers to shop and compare loan offers.
“We are working to ensure that online platforms are not manipulating their search results in order to coerce kickbacks from lenders,” Chopra said.
Rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered just above 6% last week.
In a press release, CFPB officials said that American consumers looking for the best deal on mortgages often turn to comparison-shopping platforms and mobile apps.
“Many of the websites and applications claim to offer ranked lists of providers suitable…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS A new automated valuation model that recently hit the market uses a national property database, geospatial comparable data, and artificial intelligence to help users evaluate properties. Altisource, founded in 2009, is a provider of services and technology for the mortgage and real estate marketplaces. Their NestRange AVM helps with valuations for originations and defaults. The original AVM model was built as an in-house tool, according to Chief Strategy Officer and CTO Israel Meir. “Early last year, we felt that we were at a pretty good place to package this up and offer it as a commercial system in addition to continuing to use it internally,” Meir said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note. NestRange was…
By TMN Editor The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants the public to weigh in on ways to improve the mortgage process for homeowners who would benefit from refinancing. They are especially looking for borrowers with smaller loan balances. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement that the mortgage market has not provided products that allow all households to save money by refinancing at a lower interest rate. “We are eager for input on ways that borrowers taking out loans today can refinance to lower rates in the future,” Chopra said. According to a press release, the agency is also looking for input on automatic short-term and long-term loss mitigation assistance for homeowners who experience financial disruptions. For more information,…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are cracking down on a mortgage company that allegedly discriminated against minority families and a bank that is accused of pressuring employees into unlawfully accessing the credit reports of customers. With the aid of the U.S. Department of Justice, CFPB officials took action to end Trident Mortgage Company’s alleged discrimination against families in minority neighborhoods in the greater Philadelphia area. It is alleged that Trident violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Act. DOJ officials also claim Trident violated the Fair Housing Act. In Philadelphia neighborhoods that were more than 80% minority, more than half of the applications Trident generated were from white applicants, according to…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Vice President Kamala Harris joined officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday to announce the delivery of a plan designed to dismantle racial bias in the home lending and appraisal process. The Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE) Action Plan submitted to President Joe Biden will, when enacted, represent the most wide-ranging set of reforms ever put forward to advance equity in the home appraisal process, according to a press release. During her speech, Harris described how a home ensures future financial security and peace of mind for families. “Imagine a young couple that saves enough money to put a down payment on a home. The day they…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is targeting discrimination and officials there plan to closely examine financial institutions’ decision-making practices to ensure companies are appropriately testing for and eliminating potential harm to customers. On Wednesday, an updated exam manual was published for evaluating unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts or practices. Officials said in a press release that discrimination can occur in cases where the conduct may be covered by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act – a fair lending law that covers extensions of credit – as well as instances where it does not. The example of being denied a checking account due to race was used as an example of a discriminatory practice. “When a person is denied…
The number of loans in forbearance stayed more or less the same as exits stalled mid-month, making up 1.9% of all active mortgages, according to Black Knight’s blog, Vision. November has hit a lull in its third week that mimics similar slowdowns in the last few months. Black Knight has characterized these declines as “expected.” The number of active forbearance plans rose 0.2% as activity hit its lowest level since mid-August. Plan volume rose by 5,000 for portfolio and PLS loans with small declines for FHA/VA (-2000) and GSEs (-1000). FHA/VAs saw an increase in new plans, pushing start volume to its highest level since October. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) head Rohit Chopra has zeroed in on foreclosures since…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a joint statement with other government agencies to mortgage servicers announcing a return to enforcement of protections for families and homeowners. The statement cited an April 2020 decision not to take “supervisory or enforcement action” regarding the timing requirements of the Regulation X mortgage servicing rules during the pandemic. The decision would last indefinitely “as long as the servicers made good faith efforts to provide those required notices or disclosures and took the related actions within a reasonable period of time. “ Wednesday’s statement from the CFPB walked back that flexibility, saying mortgage servicers have had plenty of time to adapt their operations to the ongoing challenges of Covid-19. The agencies will return…
