Nasdaq.com, Nov. 25, 2016
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that the maximum limit for the mortgage loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be $424,100 for most of the U.S. in 2017.
Category: Top National News
DOJ Gives Up in Fight Over Massive Bank of America, Countrywide ‘Hustle’ Fine
HousingWire, Nov. 23, 2016–Lane, Ben
Billion-dollar Settlement Now Dead.
Consumer Protection Bureau Chief Braces for a Reckoning
New York Times, Nov. 24, 2016–Cowley, Stacy
Mild-mannered, lawyerly and with a genius for trivia, Richard Cordray is not the sort of guy you picture at the center of Washington’s bitter partisan wars over regulation and consumer safeguards.
Congress Could Play Grinch this Christmas for Homeowners
Washington Post Writers Group, Nov. 26, 2016–Harney, Kenneth R.
Republicans controlling the tax-writing committees in the House and Senate say they have no plans to extend expiring tax code provisions such as mortgage debt forgiveness for financially troubled owners, mortgage insurance write-offs used by moderate-income first-time buyers, and deductions for purchases of energy-saving windows, insulation and other improvements. All three benefits terminate Dec. 31.
How to Kill the Volcker Rule? Don’t Enforce It
Wall Street Journal, nov. 28, 2016–Tracy, Ryan; Carney, John
Big banks hoping a Trump administration will defang one of Dodd-Frank’s most-controversial pieces.
Perils of Climate Change Could Swamp Coastal Real Estate
New York Times, Nov. 24, 2016–Urbina, Ian
Homeowners are slowly growing wary of buying property in the areas most at risk, setting up a potential economic time bomb in an industry that is struggling to adapt.
A $430 Billion Mortgage-Bond Market Shrugs Off the Trump Effect
Bloomberg, Nov. 27, 2016–Schwartzkopff, Frances
The world’s largest mortgage-backed covered-bond market is shrugging off the specter of real estate mogul with big spending plans Donald Trump running the U.S.
Honolulu Tops For Mortgage Debt
Honolulu Civic Beat, Nov. 27, 2016–Blair, Chad
A LawnStarter analysis (it’s a company concerned about, well, lawns) of recent Census data shows “nearly 23 percent of mortgaged owner-occupied homes in the Honolulu metro area had a second mortgage or a home equity loan in 2015.”
FCC Denies Petition by Mortgage Bankers Association to Exempt Certain Mortgage Servicing Calls from Prior Express Consent Requirement
National Law Review, Nov. 22, 2016–Phillips, Laura
The FCC denied a Mortgage Bankers Association petition that sought an exemption from the FCC’s prior express consent requirement for non-telemarketing mortgage servicing calls to wireless numbers. MBA had urged the grant of such an exemption for mortgage servicing calls.
How Attractive is the Stretch Senior Loan?
National Real Estate Investor, Nov. 22, 2016-Bell, Diana
As alternative lenders step up their activity this year, the stretch senior loan is a hybrid product that borrowers can turn to.