It must be true because I read it in the newspapers. Right? Not necessarily. Headlines and related articles can be written to be deceiving. Take this headline (Optimism). Based on the headline, one would be led to believe that today, according to a Gallup Poll, people are not too optimistic about owning a home. Gallup is a pretty reputable polling…
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…
Looking to buy a property in which you can both live in and operate a business? Your financing options are about to greatly expand if one of HUD/FHA’s proposed Rule changes goes into effect on June 15, 2015 as planned! At the present time, a prospective borrower may utilize FHA Section 203(b) financing to purchase a mixed-use property if the…
A recent study conducted by Inman, a real estate information firm, found that almost 50% of the realtors surveyed preferred to do business with a Mortgage Broker, over a Bank or Independent Mortgage Banker (Preference). Surprised? Maybe you shouldn’t be. Brokers have become a little more flexible when it comes to courting Realtors and other business sources, than other mortgage…
On HUD’s latest conference call (see NOTE below), it was stated that the primary role of an FHA Roster appraiser is to “Observe, Analyze and Report” what he/she encounters during their on-site visit to a property. There were a number of specific examples cited in which the HUD staff presenter indicated that the appraiser has effectively completed their assignment when…
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…
