REFinBlog

January 22, 2013

CFPB Issues Rules on High-Cost Mortgages

The CFPB issued rules for high-cost mortgages (those with high interest rates and/or points and fees).  Importantly, the rules now apply to most mortgages, including purchase money mortgages; refis; home equity loans; and home equity lines of credit. High-cost loans … Continue reading →

CFPB Issues Rule on Loan Originator Compensation

Distorted mortgage broker incentives were one of the big problems during the Subprime Boom.  Indeed, many lenders have since stopped outsourcing loan originator to mortgage brokers because a lot of the terrible loans they were stuck with had been originated … Continue reading →

January 17, 2013

CFPB Issues New Rules To Protect Homeowners in Foreclosure

The CFPB issued new rules today that increase protections for homeowners in foreclosure.  The 2013 Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) Mortgage Servicing Final Rules.  These rules are a first national standard … Continue reading →

January 16, 2013

Federal Involvement in Real Estate — It’s Big!

SmartGrowth America has issued an interesting report, Federal Involvement in Real Estate:  A Call for Examination, which provides a high level summary of the topic.  While it does not contain any surprises, it is somewhat shocking to see the range … Continue reading →

January 15, 2013

Land Use Controls Caused The Financial Crisis?

Respected Housng Economist Edwin Mills and co-author B.N. Jansen write in their article, “Distortions Resulting from Residential Land Use Controls in Metropolitan Areas”, The strong conclusion of this paper is that stringent residential land use controls were a primary cause of … Continue reading →

January 10, 2013

CFPB Releases Ability-To-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Final Rules

The CFPB has released the final rules relating to ability-to-repay and Qualified Mortgages.  The CFPB’s Summary is currently available. The big news is that qualified mortgages do NOT have a minimum down payment requirement.  This was a very big bone … Continue reading →

January 9, 2013

SEC Staff Report on Rating Agencies Goes Through The Motions

The SEC staff report required by Dodd Frank section 939F looks like it is just going through the motions.  It is poorly organized and marred by poor analysis.  It is unclear what it is trying to achieve, other than complying … Continue reading →