Posts on mortgage compliance and industry regulation including TRID, HMDA, and MERS.
Should a lender ask an FHA loan applicant the nature of their disability and how long they expect to be receiving any benefits? Be careful. A Michigan lender had to enter into an agreement with HUD to settle alleged discrimination against an applicant with a disability. Under this agreement the lender, Mortgage One, is required to make a monetary settlement…
Fannie Mae and Equifax have announced that Fannie will be incorporating credit trending information, provided by Equifax, into Desktop Underwriter. In addition, lenders will be able to verify an applicant’s income and employment through DU using either Equifax’s “The Work Number” product or through a manual verification service offered by Equifax (Verifications). Both Fannie Mae and Equifax tout this as…
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is awaiting court approval for a settlement agreement with Sage Bank of Lowell Mass., to the tune of almost $1.2 million. Sweet music to the DOJ. This action was brought about for alleged discrimination in lending to minority home buyers or owners. The alleged discriminatory lending practices were brought to DOJ’s attention under a referral…
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), there have been very few, if any, problems with home settlements as a result of the new TRID regulations. Karen Crowson, Chair of the Realtor’s Regulatory Issues Forum stated that most loans are closing with very little disruption (No Problems). Could it be those who decried the major problems that would result…
In Mortgagee Letter 2015-27, dated November 13, 2015, HUD/FHA announced some subtle changes in its condominium project approval and recertification policies and procedures. Although it is stated that HUD expects to “increase the pool of condominium projects eligible for FHA approval” by implementing these changes, it’s difficult to comprehend how these changes will contribute to any major increase in loan…
The 3-year reporting requirement for comp sales had only been in effect for less than 2 months and was the topic of much discussion at the various industry webinars and conferences conducted by HUD/FHA staff prior to the September 14, 2015, implementation date. In my blog post from Nov. 6th, I discussed FHA’s recent decision to rescind its short-lived policy…
