Under the TRID rules, a lender may increase a fee once disclosed as being non-shoppable by the consumer when the result of an event or circumstance taking place after a disclosure is issued. These are known under the law as “allowable changes in circumstances.” In such justifiable situations, a fee which is directly related to the change may be increased.…
The good news (to some) is that DOJ’s lawsuit with a $1.27 billion penalty against Bank of America was tossed by the appeals court. The court also threw out the $1 million fine levied against former Countrywide employee Rebecca Mairone. Ironically, Rebecca is the only industry executive to have been named in a suit and penalized (almost) as a result…
Everyone knows that we need first time homebuyers in the market so we can continue the stream of move up homebuyers. This usually signifies how the economy and the housing markets are faring. The better the economy, the better jobs and wage growth, the more likely consumers will be in a better position to buy their first home or move…
With all the chatter lately about the bad and the ugly in the mortgage business, I wanted to concentrate on the good. We read and hear about predatory lending, subprime loans, fines, penalties and all the challenges faced by mortgage lenders resulting from regulatory changes and CFPB scrutiny. Let’s take a look at something, actually someone, who represents all that’s…
Ed Golding, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing and Head of the FHA, (that’s what it says on his letterhead), issued an informal letter (The Letter) to all FHA lenders on the acceptance of Housing Finance Agency (HFA) down payment assistance programs. Everybody rejoiced. Seems FHA had put to bed the industry’s concerns resulting from actions taken by DOJ against…
Once again we find the Department of Justice out to protect the “…housing market the FHA fund…,” according to Benjamin Mizer, the principal deputy assistant Attorney General. This time, they’re after Guild Mortgage, a San Diego lender with over five decades in the mortgage lending and servicing business. Another big target. However, Guild is not a large bank but an…
