By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A bicameral bill that would force hedge funds out of the single-family home market has been introduced.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023 this week, with Merkley stating, “The housing in our neighborhoods should be homes for people, not profit centers for Wall Street.”
“Yet, in every corner of the country, giant financial corporations are buying up housing and driving up both rents and home prices,” Merkley said in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to put in place commonsense guardrails that ensure all families have a fair chance to buy or rent a decent home in their community at…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
As the end of the year nears, mortgage professionals are hustling, and although it may seem like it takes a lot more to get consumers to say “yes” in 2023, a leading real estate trainer and coach says it’s all about preparing for positive interactions with borrowers.
Ron Vaimberg started in the real estate business in 1983 and founded The New York Mortgage Institute in 1997. Today, he is the president of Ron Vaimberg International in Jefferson Valley, NY, working with professionals in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Vaimberg said market frustrations – whether they be over a lack of inventory or the fact that borrowers are qualifying for less due to high interest rates –…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Leaders in lending are talking about the possible ramifications of the legal actions being taken against the National Association of Realtors, including the president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage.
In October, a Missouri jury ordered the association and some of the nation’s biggest real estate brokerages to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages after they found that commissions were artificially inflated to pay agents. Fresh off winning the verdict, attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a new lawsuit that seeks class-action status covering anyone in the country who sold a home in the last five years.
NAR’s President Tracy Kasper said in a statement that they will appeal the liability finding, and in the interim, will ask…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Cloud-based technology is transforming warehouse lending by eliminating the need for internal system updates and ensuring new functions are available immediately.
This fall, leaders at SitusAMC announced that their warehouse lending system ProMerit is now accessible through a cloud-hosted, software-as-a-service platform that can install monthly release packages to deliver bug fixes and functional enhancements. This over-the-air delivery benefits clients by reducing costs and reliance on internal resources, they said.
ProMerit has been used by lenders for more than 35 years. Measured by volume, it has a 75% share of the warehouse lending market, company leaders say.
Rich Berg, SitusAMC senior director of warehouse and custodial technology, said in a statement that the updated platform was created and…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Rocket Pro TPO is kicking off its annual December to Remember event and the executive vice president says it will mean more for mortgage professionals this year than ever before.
Mike Fawaz and his team announced on Nov. 20 that they will again be spreading holiday cheer this month with wins focused on helping the broker community. He said during an interview with The Mortgage Note this week that due to the state of the market in 2023, brokers and loan officers are hustling to finish the year strong.
“To me, this year December to Remember becomes a lot more special than any other year because, for one, December to Remember came to life to help mortgage…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The second largest bank in the country will pay a $12 million penalty after it was found that hundreds of loan officers falsified forms about mortgage applicants in violation of federal law.
Officials at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau say that for at least four years, loan officers at Bank of America did not ask mortgage applicants required demographic questions and then falsely reported that the applicants chose not to respond.
They say this violates the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, enacted in 1975, which requires mortgage lenders to report information about loan applications and originations to the CFPB and other federal regulators. Data collected under the act is used to monitor whether financial institutions serve their communities’…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Leaders at a California-based digital lending solutions provider say they are using generative AI to redefine the financial services landscape.
The launch of Data Beats by Tavant was announced at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention and expo in Philadelphia this October. The platform will initially be used for mortgage and home equity products but it will be extended to all consumer loans and banking products.
Abhinav Asthana, fintech product business and growth leader at Tavant, said in a statement that the company’s mission is to stay at the forefront of innovation and to be the engineering partner of choice in the financial services industry.
“Data Beats exemplifies our commitment to providing our customers with an advanced…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The Biden-Harris Administration has released a set of actions to better social determinants of health and officials at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development say it shows the importance of housing as a key driver of health outcomes.
The U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health says social determinants of health are defined as “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.”
These account for as much as 50% of county-level health outcomes, according to the playbook.
The playbook says housing insecurity is associated with increased mental health challenges, adverse birth outcomes for…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
SimpleNexus has officially rebranded as nCino’s Mortgage Suite and company leaders say customers can benefit from a more diverse and financially stable company.
Following its acquisition for $1.2 billion in stocks and cash in January of 2022, SimpleNexus’ market share in the mortgage point of sale space grew. Their products now touch about 25% of all residential loan originations in the United States.
Ben Miller, EVP of US Mortgage, said prior to the sale, SimpleNexus worked mostly with independent mortgage banks. Today, they work with more banks and credit unions.
Miller, who was a co-founder of SimpleNexus, played a leading role in the acquisition. He told The Mortgage Note that when nCino approached them, they weren’t for…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Distressed homeowners who get behind on their mortgage bills are avoiding foreclosure.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey was released last week and it showed that delinquencies increased in the third quarter to a rate of 3.62%, up 25 basis points from the second quarter and 17 basis points from a year ago.
Marina Walsh, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis, said that despite the increase, later-stage delinquencies – those 90 days or more past due – declined to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2020.
“The decline in later-stage delinquencies, along with a foreclosure starts rate of 0.14% – which is well below the historical quarterly average of 0.40% – suggest that distressed…
