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FHFA director testifies before Congress
Posted Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022
Recently confirmed Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Sandra Thompson outlined the agency’s priorities during testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services.
During her appearance, Thompson discussed the state of the housing market, including comparison with the Great Recession; the health of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; providing liquidity to underserved areas and housing supply and affordability.
Read on to learn more.
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Plaintiff’s attempt to force servicer to provide an accounting fails
Posted Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022
A South Carolina woman sued her mortgage servicer for not providing a complete copy of her payment history and not responding to her qualified written request (QWR).
The servicer said it owed no fiduciary duty to the plaintiff and insufficient proof was provided that a valid QWR had been submitted.
Read on to learn more.
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HUD proposes updating manufactured home standards
Posted Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published its proposals for updating the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, commonly referred to as the HUD Code.
The proposed updates were published in the Federal Register and are the largest set of changes to the HUD Code in over two decades.
Read on to learn more.
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FHFA launches technology office
Posted Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022
The Federal Housing Finance Agency launched its Office of Financial Technology.
The agency said the office will serve as a centralized source of information to support it in addressing emerging risks and advancing agency priorities related to the adoption and deployment of financial technology.
Read on to learn more about the new office.
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Existing-home sales continue to drop
Posted Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022
Existing-home sales dropped for the fifth consecutive month in June, with three out of four U.S. regions experiencing month-over-month sales declines and one region holding steady, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
According to NAR, first-time buyers were responsible for 30 percent of sales in June, up from 27 percent in May and down from 31 percent in June 2021.
Read on to learn more.
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Illinois couple’s dual tracking claim dismissed
Posted Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
An Illinois couple claimed their mortgage servicer violated a RESPA provision by dual tracking a foreclosure proceeding. The servicer moved to have the complaint dismissed asserting the couple lacked subject matter jurisdiction or otherwise failed to state a claim.
Read on to learn more.
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Chopra highlights CFPB’s steps to promote competition
Posted Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra recently highlighted steps the agency has taken in the past year to promote competition in the American economy.
In a blog posted on the bureau’s website, Chopra said agency is participating in the Biden administration’s whole-of-government effort to ensure markets for consumer financial products are competitive.
Read on to learn more.
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Bank of America fined for ‘botching’ disbursement of benefit payments
Posted Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fined Bank of America $100 million for “botching” the disbursement of state unemployment benefits at the height of the pandemic.
According to the CFPB, Bank of America automatically and unlawfully froze people’s accounts with a faulty fraud detection program and then gave them little recourse when there was no fraud.
Read on to learn more.
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HUD names programs in Justice40 Initiative
Posted Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a list of its programs included in the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative.
The Justice40 Initiative’s goal is to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water and other investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution.
Read on to learn more.
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Foreign investment in US real estate increases
Posted Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
Foreign buyers bought $59 billion worth of U.S. existing homes from April 2021 through March 2022, an 8.5 percent increase from the previous 12-month period, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.
NAR surveyed its members about transactions with international clients who purchased and sold U.S. residential property from April 2021 through March 2022.
Read on to learn more.
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HUD grants available for rehabbing the homes of veterans
Posted Date: Monday, July 18, 2022
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough announced the availability of $10.4 million through the Veterans Housing Rehabilitation and Modification Pilot Program for the rehabilitation of the homes of veterans with low-incomes and disabilities.
Read on to learn more.
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New Jersey warns real estate teams about RESPA violations
Posted Date: Thursday, July 14, 2022
New Jersey recently sent a bulletin to real estate licensees to remind them to comply with the state’s RESPA-related laws.
The bulletin was directed to real estate licensees, particularly those on teams, and the brokers responsible for managing and supervising those teams. It urged them to comply with the state Real Estate Broker and Salesperson Act and related regulations.
Read on to learn more.
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Judge labels landlord’s actions ‘egregious’
Posted Date: Thursday, July 14, 2022
A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administrative law judge ruled a Long Island, N.Y., landlord violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent to a mother and her daughter because of the daughter’s cerebral palsy.
The landlord was ordered to pay damages to the family and a civil penalty to the United States.
Read on to learn more about this case.
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CFPB again targets payday lender ACE Cash Express
Posted Date: Thursday, July 14, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is accusing payday lender ACE Cash Express of concealing free repayment plans from struggling borrowers to generate millions in fees.
The bureau said ACE’s alleged illegal practices caused individual borrowers to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in reborrowing fees when they were eligible for free repayment plans.
Read on to learn more.
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FHA announces flexibility for borrowers with pandemic-related income loss
Posted Date: Thursday, July 14, 2022
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced new flexibility for lenders when qualifying borrowers who experienced previous employment gaps or loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to updates provided in the FHA’s Mortgagee Letter 2022-09, salaried and hourly wage-earners, as well as self-employed individuals affected by COVID-19, who now have stable income will have a greater opportunity to purchase a home.
Read on for more details.
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NAR releases membership profile
Posted Date: Thursday, July 14, 2022
More than half of Realtors surveyed (57 percent) cited a lack of inventory as the leading reason preventing clients from buying a home, according to the latest membership survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
NAR’s survey also revealed that its membership increased to 1.56 million at the end of 2021, up from 1.48 million at the end of 2020.
Read on for more information.
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Florida transgender housing-discrimination complaint filed
Posted Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) charged a Florida owner and manager of an RV park with discriminating against a former tenant because of her gender identity.
The defendant allegedly gave a tenant a letter stating the tenant should act as a man, talk as a man and dress as a man to avoid trouble.
Read to learn more about the charges.
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HUD settles discrimination lawsuit
Posted Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agreed to a consent order with Blossom Associates, LLC and Maryanne Hart, the owner and operator of multiple rental units in Massachusetts who allegedly refused to rent to a family because the family had children under the age of 6.
Massachusetts requires housing providers to remediate lead paint in units where children under 6 live. The laws also create liability for housing providers if they do not remediate and young children suffer lead poisoning.
Read on to learn more.
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Massachusetts AG settles reasonable-accommodation lawsuit
Posted Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
A Boston-area property management company and its owner agreed to pay restitution and implement no smoking policies in its Roxbury and Dorchester affordable housing units, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office.
The agreement will settle allegations that the management company and its owner unlawfully denied a tenant and their young disabled child the reasonable accommodations necessary to address secondhand smoke and a rodent infestation.
Read on to learn more.
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CFPB issues advisory on use of credit reports
Posted Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a legal interpretation to ensure companies that use and share credit reports and background reports have a permissible purpose for doing so under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act in 1970 to ensure companies “exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumer’s right to privacy.”
Read on to learn more.
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DFPI supplements California’s financing disclosure regulations
Posted Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
The California Office of Administrative Law recently approved the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s proposed commercial financing disclosure regulations.
The regulations extend disclosure protections to California small businesses when those businesses seek commercial financing. The disclosures take effect on Dec. 9.
Read on to learn more.
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CFPB seeking advisory board members
Posted Date: Monday, July 11, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking external experts with diverse viewpoints to serve on four advisory boards established to provide the agency with information about emerging trends and practices in the consumer financial marketplace.
Read on to learn more.
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Oregon couple temporarily blocks transfer of deed
Posted Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022
An Oregon couple claimed they agreed to a foreclosure avoidance measure with their mortgage company.
Despite the agreement, the couple alleges the mortgage company improperly held a foreclosure sale of their residence and sold the property. The couple sought a temporary restraining order to stop the issuance of a deed.
Read on to learn how the court ruled.
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CFPB ends Payactiv’s exemption
Posted Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued an order terminating Payactiv’s Sandbox Approval Order relating to its earned wage access products.
Payactiv contracts with employers to provide employee-requested transfers of wages that an employee has already earned prior to payday.
Read on to learn more.
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NFHA, MBA offer toolkit for mortgage lenders
Posted Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022
The National Fair Housing Alliance and Mortgage Bankers Association are offering an online toolkit for mortgage lenders interested in developing special purpose credit programs (SPCPs).
The organizations said SPCPs permit lenders to offer mortgage credit to economically and socially disadvantaged borrowers and are an important tool for ensuring financial institutions can meet the needs of their consumers.
Read on to learn more.
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HUD awards funds for Philadelphia rental units
Posted Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Multifamily Housing has closed a Rental Assistance Demonstration transaction with the Philadelphia Housing Authority to build 58 newly constructed affordable rental homes.
HUD said the homes will be constructed in the Sharswood/Blumberg neighborhood. They will be built on both vacant lots and locations with blighted structures.
Read on to learn more.
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Pending home sales up in May
Posted Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022
According to the National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index, pending homes sales increased month-over-month in May in both the Northeast and the South. They decreased in the Midwest and the West.
However, year-over-year transactions decreased in all regions.
Read on to learn more.
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Nationstar prevails in Tennessee foreclosure case
Posted Date: Monday, July 4, 2022
A property owner in Jackson, Tenn., claimed Nationstar failed to acknowledge a loan modification, and that alleged failure led to an improper foreclosure.
The case was heard without a jury.
Read on to learn more.
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GAO report: Fair lending oversight could be enhanced
Posted Date: Monday, July 4, 2022
The federal agency primarily responsible for overseeing banks’ compliance with fair lending laws inconsistently followed policies and procedures pertaining to redlining examinations, according to a recent report from The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO report said its review of five examinations by The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's of potential redlining by banks found examiner guidance did not account for new statistical methods used to analyze redlining, and examiners followed some procedures inconsistently.
Read on for more.
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CFPB affirms prohibition of ‘pay-to-pay’ fees
Posted Date: Monday, July 4, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued an advisory opinion affirming federal law often prohibits debt collectors from charging “pay-to-pay” fees.
Commonly described by debt collectors as “convenience fees,”
The charges are imposed on consumers who want to make a payment in a particular way, such as online or by phone.
Read on for more information.
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FHFA releases first-quarter foreclosure, refinance report
Posted Date: Monday, July 4, 2022
The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its first quarter 2022 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report.
According to the report, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 129,779 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped to 6,494,057 since the start of conservatorships in September 2008.
Read on to learn more.
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CFPB scrutinizing credit card late fees
Posted Date: Monday, July 4, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced its intention to investigate credit card company penalty policies, including late fees, which it said costs consumers $12 billion each year.
The bureau published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking soliciting information on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ 2010 immunity provision for excessive late fees that allows credit card companies to avoid enforcement scrutiny.
Read on to learn more.
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Facebook settles fair-housing lawsuit
Posted Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
The company formerly known as Facebook has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving a lawsuit in which the government alleged the company’s housing-advertising system discriminated based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin.
The lawsuit alleged Meta uses algorithms to determine which Facebook users receive housing ads, and those algorithms rely, in part, on characteristics protected under the Fair Housing Act.
Read on to learn more.
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Court allows RESPA claim against servicer to proceed
Posted Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
A North Carolina borrower claimed the servicer of his loan foreclosed without proper notices after receipt of a complete loss mitigation application. The servicer sought summary judgment on all claims as well as for emotional distress and punitive damages.
Read on to learn more.
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Banking groups urge CFPB to back off
Posted Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
Several groups representing banks and other businesses recently acknowledged discrimination has no place in the financial services marketplace but contend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) actions to investigate discrimination and banks exceed its legal authority.
The American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently shared a legal analysis with the CFPB.
Read on to learn more.
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HUD releasing $365 million to fight homelessness
Posted Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released a package of resources to combat unsheltered homelessness and homeless encampments, including funds set aside to target homelessness in rural communities.
The package promotes partnerships with health care organizations, public housing authorities and mainstream housing providers, as well as people with expertise concerning homelessness.
Read on to learn more.
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Existing-home sales continue to decline
Posted Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
Existing-home sales decreased for the fourth consecutive month in May, according to the National Association of Realtors, with month-over-month sales declining in three out of four major U.S. regions and year-over-year sales slipping in all four regions.
Read on to learn more.
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