Senate Banking Chair, Richard Shelby, introduced regulatory relief legislation known as the “Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015”. Among other things, this Act calls for a safe harbor protection from a consumer Ability To Repay (ATR) claim for any loans held in portfolio by a bank, with a few restrictions. Some key provisions of the bill may be found here,…
Your options are limited! Lenders beware – the financing of Bed & Breakfast facilities can result in a Repurchase or Indemnification Agreement Request. Recently, a client asked our Firm about financing opportunities for a Bed and Breakfast establishment. Usually located in resort areas, Bed & Breakfasts are private homes offering overnight accommodations that include private bedrooms and either a private…
(Excerpt from MarketLogics 5/5/15) It is amazing how mortgage banking is so entrepreneurial, compared to the lack of innovation from the other industries that are government-regulated utilities. Think about airlines. How many think that the airline industry is making too much money today? It was a utility. It became a for-profit business that could not control costs until after a…
Now, here’s the other side. The DOJ has filed suit against Quicken loans for the improper origination of FHA-insured loans (Return Fire). DOJ alleges that Quicken was somewhat remiss in their underwriting and approval of the FHA loans in question. The battle lines are drawn. Quicken says they didn’t do anything wrong. DOJ says they made hundreds of FHA loans…
You may know him better from the reality TV show on Bravo, “Real Housewives of New Jersey”, but Jim Marchese, a mortgage lender, is a real live whistle-blower. You can’t make this stuff up! Mr. Marchese blew the whistle not once but twice, on two different companies, and received substantial rewards to the tune of about $18 million (Whistle-blower). Read…
Have you heard about the one where the lender sues the government for false accusations? Who says you can’t fight city hall? One lender, Quicken Loans is fighting back against claims made by the DOJ (False Claims). Quicken, one of the nation’s largest originators of FHA insured loans, has decided it has had enough and isn’t going to take the…
