According to First American Financial Corporation’s latest Loan Application Defect Report, the frequency of defects, fraud, and misrepresentations jumped to 4% on loan applications submitted in February. That’s a 1.3% increase above just one year ago. A 4% increase may not seem like much but when talking about fraud and misrepresentations among mortgage applications it could prove to be an…
Despite rising mortgage rates and increasing home prices, many consumers are feeling good about housing going into the spring buying season. As evidence, Fannie Mae’s monthly index of homebuyer sentiment rose to its highest level since 2011. That’s great news. Woo-Woo! According to Doug Duncan, Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, Millennials showed strong increases in job confidence and income growth.…
Fraud, misrepresentations, and loan defects are rising as refinances decline and purchase activity increases. According to The First American Financial Corporation, their Loan Application Defect Index rose 5.8% in January 2017, as compared to last year. This trend started in December of 2016. As the industry pushes to qualify more potential homebuyers in a rising rate environment, it experiences more problems…
Or, was it just a long foul ball? By most accounts, President Trump’s address to Congress was a success. He delivered a well thought out, measured speech in a professional, presidential manner. We saw a different side of the new President. Not everyone was enthralled by his words. The Democrats mostly sat silently through his presentation, rarely applauding any of his…
You can’t pick up a newspaper, listen to a talk show, news broadcast, read a tweet or online post today without some comment on the political divide. Everything has become a zero-sum game; there’s no room for compromise. It’s right or wrong, black or white, fair or unfair. In the eyes of the public and our legislators, it’s “win or…
The headline read: “President Trump Signs Order to Start Dismantling Dodd-Frank.” Say what? Dodd-Frank is a law passed by Congress. To dismantle it, as reported, would take an Act of Congress as well. This is not something that can be changed by any President with the stroke of a pen. So, let’s take a closer look at what the President actually…
