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’…
Wilmington, NC-based MC Mortgage Group is joining mortgage platform UMortgage, the company announced.
MC Mortgage serves homebuyers in North and South Carolina. The company was named MPA Top Employer and Lender and Wilmington Cape Fear Home Builder’s Association’s Lender of the Year in 2021.
The company was founded in 2005 by President Patrick Stoy, a seasoned mortgage veteran with nearly 25 years of experience as a broker. He was named a UWM Top 1% Broker and a Top-100 Purchase LO with UWM in 2022. In 2021 he was named Mortgage Professional of the Year by the North Carolina Home Builders Association.
“Being that I’ve been a true independent mortgage broker since 2005, this platform will allow me the opportunity to…
The Mortgage Note’s team has been tracking national trends and the ways companies are working to attract buyers and sellers to the market this spring.
Editor Kimberley Haas interviewed industry leaders to learn more about what they are seeing and what products are being offered for this podcast.
If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].
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Follow Us On Twitter: The Mortgage Bankers Association's National Advocacy Conference is taking place in Washington, D.C. What…
By CHUCK GREEN
As the traditional spring homebuying season begins, a lack of inventory, high interest rates, and economic uncertainty due to banking troubles have dominated the news. So what can people expect?
Rick Sharga, president and CEO of CJ Patrick Company in California, told The Mortgage Note that it’s “unlikely to be a banner period for home sales. Extremely low inventory of homes for sale coupled with poor affordability are likely to keep sales activity fairly weak, even though seasonal trends usually see sales and prices increase during the spring and summer months.”
Although the second quarter is typically the peak season for home sales, that has been disrupted in recent years, noted Sharga.
“This seasonal trend didn’t happen…
By PATRICK LAVERY
Interest rates are rising as the spring homebuying season starts in many parts of the country.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated in his testimony before U.S. lawmakers this week that although the central bank’s policymakers have yet to decide how large their next rate hike will be, “the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated” based on the latest economic data. They will be meeting on March 21 and 22.
“As I have mentioned in my testimony, the data we have seen so far this year suggests that the ultimate level of rates will need to be higher. We still have some more data to come in between now and…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Craving some sunshine? You are not alone as the migration to the Sun Belt continues past the pandemic.
Data from U-Haul and North American Van Lines shows that the Carolinas, Florida, and Texas were among the top inbound states for migration last year. That trend is expected to continue.
And as the state of North Carolina sees an influx of new residents, the coastal city of Wilmington has been attracting accolades. It was listed as the second best place to live in North Carolina by Forbes Advisor last fall, coming in after Raleigh, the state’s capital.
In January, the median listing home price in Wilmington was $435,700, trending up 18.1% year-over-year. The median home sold price was…
By CHUCK GREEN According to experts, not only is the housing market expected to continue cooling this year, the forecast remains chilly entering 2023. Real house prices jumped 10.5% in September and logged a 60.6% YOY increase, according to First American’s Real House Price Index. But prices fell in 15 out of the top 50 markets they analyze. Mortgage originations saw their largest annual decline in 21 years this fall, further evidence that the housing boom is coming to an end. Originations fell 47% YOY in Q3, according to ATTOM Data’s Q3 2022 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. Quarter-over-quarter they were down 19%, the sixth consecutive drop. So, what in the name of the cranky barometer’s up? For one thing, surprise, surprise,…
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…
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.…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency are warning survivors of Hurricane Ian they should be aware of con artists and criminals looking to take advantage of the situation. Predators may promise homeowners a disaster grant in return for payment or fill out an application for assistance without a person’s knowledge, according to the FEMA website. “If a FEMA Inspector comes to your home and you did not submit a FEMA application, your information may have been used without your knowledge to create a FEMA application. If so, please inform the inspector that you did not apply for FEMA assistance so they can submit a request to stop further processing of the application,” the website says. People…
