It’s estimated that in 2016, almost $20 million in wire transfers, like down payments and settlement funds, from bona fide real estate sale transactions were diverted to criminal’s bank accounts. This was accomplished by manipulating legitimate email accounts. How much more may have been lost from other types of mortgage fraud? Although mortgage fraud is reportedly down, as the real…
Companies and consumers are increasing their use of voice-activated virtual assistants. Most companies today have interactive call answering systems that will guide a caller to their desired destination or provide static data. Banks offer services for their customers to call in and get account balance information, stop payment on checks, check for charges and payments made on credit cards, and…
For as long as we can remember, everyone involved in home building, selling, and financing have strongly supported the home mortgage interest tax deduction. People financing their home could reduce their federal income tax by a large amount, if not all, of the interest they paid on their mortgage loan during the year. This is considered a good thing for…
As independent non-bank lenders take the lead away from traditional banks in originating new mortgage business, they also want to be excluded from direct CFPB supervision. They are not the only ones. Small to mid-size non-bank mortgage lenders, like some community banks and credit unions with assets under $10 billion, are seeking exclusion from CFPB audits and enforcement actions. A…
Ask lenders – and just about all will tell you they do their business the right way. If so, they shouldn’t need to worry about any action from the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the False Claims Act (FCA). Right? With everyone supposedly doing business the right way, why does the DOJ keep finding lenders that violate the rules? Could…
It’s official (as if we didn’t know), according to the 2016 HMDA data, non-bank lenders made more mortgage loans than their bank counterparts. For the first time since way back in 1995, the non-depository lending institutions closed more purchase and refinance mortgage loans. You’ve come a long way, baby. Some interesting facts realized from the 2016 HMDA information are: 53%…
