All Blog Posts (268)

Lee Farkas, the former chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., heads to trial today as the accused mastermind of a $1.9 billion fraud conspiracy. Looming in the background will be the company’s relationship with the bailed-out federal mortgage financier, Freddie Mac.

Farkas, 58, is charged with orchestrating a scheme involving fake mortgage assets that duped some of the country’s largest financial…

The percentage of mortgages classified as seriously delinquent within the portfolios of large banks and thrifts fell in all four quarters of 2010, the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said Thursday.

The percentage of seriously delinquent mortgages at Dec. 31 dropped to a level not seen since the second quarter of 2009. The report defines seriously delinquent mortgages as those 60 or more days delinquent or…

GMAC Bank's correspondent clients using the Veros Platform to order appraisals now have a "Valuations Team located in our Fort Washington location. This team, comprised of licensed and certified appraisers, will conduct a due diligence on every appraisal ordered through the Veros platform. The review covers items such as, but not limited to: value validation, appropriateness of the comparable selection, adequacy of the market adjusters and individual adjustments to comparable sales,…

Four Republican attorneys general participating in the investigation into mortgage servicing practices wrote a letter to Iowa AG Tom Miller stating that the proposed settlement is too strict.

Florida AG Pam Bondi, Texas AG Greg Abbott, Virginia AG Kenneth Cuccinelli and South Carolina AG Alan Wilson sent the letter Tuesday explaining among other claims that homeowners would strategically default on the mortgage in…

Two government organizations said it is not necessary to remove all electrical wiring in homes with Chinese drywall during the remediation process.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently released an updated version of their guidance on Chinese drywall remediation. The change comes after a study by Sandia National Laboratories found there were no correlating hazardous…

Wells Fargo's correspondent clients received some good news on flipping. Wells came off its "maximum 120% appreciation in 90 days" rule on FHA flip properties. Clients can now sell these loans to Wells provided that the correspondent meet the guidelines that FHA put out in their waiver ("exemption from compliance with FHA's regulation on property flipping"), and provide an additional appraisal, ordered from RELS. "Wells Fargo Funding requires a second full FHA appraisal for FHA…

As regulators stiffen mortgage underwriting requirements, some homebuilders stand to lose more business than others.

Federal regulators will release a proposal in April defining what mortgages securitizers and, by extension lenders, will be forced to maintain 5% risk retention for. Early indications are that the downpayment for these qualified…

Foreclosure time lines and an abundance of distressed home sales are causing wide fluctuations in shadow inventory across the country.

The National Association of Realtors released state-by-state data on shadow inventory Monday, calculating the data in relation to distressed property sales. On the whole, Capital Economics estimates there are…

A congressman from Tennessee introduced legislation that would provide grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to states and local governments to provide mediation for homeowners facing foreclosure.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) introduced H.R. 1131, called the Preventing Homeowners from Foreclosure Act of 2011. It appears to be substantially the same bill Cohen introduced last year that did not make it out of committee. The proposed legislation has…

Here's a link to the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association:

www.arcsa.org

They promote rainwater harvesting, potable water solutions, etc.  For all of you interested in this subject this might a site to dig further into when you have time.

Did you know that solar radiation through the glass in your house accounts for about 20% or your home's air conditioning efforts?

According to a study by the American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers installing an outdoor fabric awning can reduce the heat gain through the glass by 55% to 65% when the sun's rays are at their peak.

The biggest bang for the buck comes from awnings on south facing windows - no surprise there!

So in…

The Financial Services Roundtable established a college scholarship to honor students who successfully completed a certified financial education course, or a financial literacy course offered by a Roundtable member company or a Roundtable community service Partner, before entering college.



The Roundtable Financial Literacy Scholarship Review Committee will select ten high school students based on the qualifications and criteria for the scholarship listed…

[Update 1: Adds comment from the Department of Justice.]

The Department of Justice is leading a civil rights investigation into allegations a Morgan Stanley subsidiary wrongfully foreclosed on military families between 2006 and 2008.

Saxon Mortgage Services is being investigated for possible violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Saxon is just one of…

In this photo from left to right: Eileen Fitzgerald, Acting CEO for NeighborWorks America; Debbie Isabel-Nelson from Neighborhood Housing Services of Duluth, Inc; Erin McQuade, Resource Development Director receiving the award on behalf of Troi Bechet from Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans,…

Position: Resident Services Regional Manager…

Thanks to a generous grant from the FDIC, NeighborWorks is able to offer our community stabilization-related e-learning courses – a $195 value – free of charge until September 30, 2011. Choose from:



• AH295el Community Stabilization: An Introduction to REO Acquisition, Rehab, Disposition and Management

• AM121el Fundamentals of Asset Management

• HO260el Counseling Buyers of REO Properties

• HO265el Counseling…

If you feel like I do these days, refreshing your time management skills may be needed.  The Pickle Jar Theory may help.  Simply put: when planning your day think about a large empty pickle jar.  Take three or four large rocks (three or four high priority items to get done today) and add them to the jar.

Now…

Here's a link to another product folks may be interested in as Spring arrives and landscaping activities start up.  The site indicates these pavers are about the same price (labor and materials) as traditional pavers due to their ease of installation (lower labor costs).

//http://vastpavers.com/products/composite_paver/permeable_composite_paver.php

Brand New Day, a non-profit located in Elizabeth, NJ has a vision of “revitalizing communities throughout the State of New Jersey by empowering residents…,” To accomplish their vision they offer a series of programs and services. Here is a story of how a young life can be impacted and a community…