By KIMBERLEY HAAS Leaders at loanDepot are saying they are pleased with a federal judge’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction against six former employees and CrossCountry Mortgage. The employees are currently employed by CrossCountry and are accused of taking sensitive customer information from loanDepot to their new employer. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang of the Northern District of Illinois issued the injunction. Chang found that “there is a likelihood of success on all of loanDepot’s claims against the defendants.” loanDepot’s lawyers claim that CrossCountry and the six former employees misappropriated loanDepot trade secrets; that CrossCountry aided and abetted contractual and fiduciary violations by these recent hires; and that CrossCountry was responsible for tortious interference with the…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The future of live-work-play communities looks bright heading into 2023 as investors figure out ways to make money in real estate with a recession looming. A CoworkingCafe study shows that 512 live-work-play communities were built across the nation between 2012 and 2022, with another 101 in the pipeline for the next two years. New York City is currently leading the way with the highest number of mixed-use buildings with 50. Four more are planned for 2023. Analysts at CoworkingCafe used data from CommercialEdge and Yardi Matrix. Doug Ressler, Business Intelligence Manager at Yardi Matrix, recently sat down with The Mortgage Note. Ressler said the company does data research on different asset classes of commercial real estate. They have…
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 The CEO of an advanced analytics company says the latest version of their platform includes a new reporting tool that can help lenders and servicers navigate the current market. Augie Del Rio is the co-founder of Gallus Insights, headquartered in Chicago. They have satellite offices in Dallas and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Del Rio and Bernardo Loitegui started the company in 2021. Leaders at the company recently released information about the upgraded version of their cloud-based platform. It includes a Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting tool and comes on the heels of $1 million in pre-seed funding. Users can pull insights on the total market, specific geographies, products, and peer lenders. Data about borrowers, loans, and employees can…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The housing market traditionally cools during the holiday season as people focus on family and friends but industry leaders say it is a good time for potential sellers and buyers to weigh their options. After mortgage rates recently surged above 7%, real estate activity and consumer sentiment took a nosedive. Home delistings hit a record high in November as sellers and buyers pulled out of the market, according to journalists Lily Katz and Ben Walzer at Redfin. Markets where home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic are now cooling the fastest. In Sacramento, Calif., an average of 3.6% of active listings were delisted per week during the 12 weeks ending on November 27, up 1.6 percentage points from one year earlier.…
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 Leaders at Big Purple Dot and CoreLogic have come together to launch a platform that provides detailed production data on loan officers and a service to help lending companies in their recruiting efforts. Roxana Davidoff, Founder and CEO of Big Purple Dot in Irvine, California, recently sat down with The Mortgage Note to explain why this data is needed by lenders as the housing market cools following a whirlwind pandemic-driven surge. “We understand where we are headed in this environment, where before people were hired just to fund a loan. Business was so hot people were funding loans every single day. Now the music has slowed down and people need to take a look now, and they…
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…
