August 10, 2017
Thursday’s Advocacy & Think Tank Roundup
- Homeowners no longer have to flock to their attorney’s office or an agreed upon place in order to complete the closing process. United Wholesale Mortgage, now offers e-closing. Beginning on July 28, 2017, the company began allowing refinancing borrowers to complete a virtual closing. Though many companies offer e-mortgages, e-closings are not as readily available.
- Insights Blog released a report detailing May’s loan performance. The report noted loans in early stage delinquencies are at their lowest in 17 years. Additionally, New York has more loan delinquencies than any other metropolitan area. Further, the report mentions that homes in foreclosure across the nation are down 1%.
August 10, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
August 9, 2017
Wednesday’s Academic Roundup
- Heterogeneity in House Price Dynamics, Galati and Teppa
- Optimal Sharing of Interest-Rate Risk in Mortgage Contracts: The Effects of Potential Prepayment and Default, Brueckner and Lee
- A Comprehensive Look at Short-Term Rentals: A Spatial Economic Analysis of Seattle, Garza and Hooton
- Household Credit and Local Economic Uncertainty, Kermani, Maggio, Ramcharan, and Yu.
- The Secondary Mortgage Market- A Catalyst for Change in Real Estate Transactions, Malloy
August 9, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
August 8, 2017
Tuesday’s Regulatory & Legislative Roundup
- Mayors across the country flocked to America’s Capitol to give Congress a message, “We need help.” Specifically, the group seems most displeased with health care and tax reform. Many believe the two groups should work more collaboratively and move away from the secret legislation of the Trump Administration.
- Everyone is receiving a payout from Wells Fargo. This week, the Department of Veteran Affairs negotiated a settlement with the troubled bank regarding their interest rate veteran refinancing practices. The bank allegedly collected millions in unauthorized fees on these loans and will settle the issue with a $108 million settlement agreement.
August 8, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
August 7, 2017
Monday’s Adjudication Roundup
- An Ohio Businesswoman pled guilty to her role in a $70 million Ponzi scheme. Connie Apostelos worked with her husband to defraud over 400 victims. Apostelos plead guilty to money laundering which caused investigators to lose over $20 million in funds. The couple used the money for personal luxuries rather than future investments.
- New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection previously approved the building of an apartment complex in a unique wetlands region. A New Jersey Appellate panel upheld the agency’s choice to approve the development citing the agency’s review of the project as sound and thorough.
August 7, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
August 4, 2017
Friday’s Government Reports Roundup
- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to assist cities across the nation which are prone to flooding disasters. The federal agency recently appropriated over $178 million to assist America’s 2015 and 2016 flooded areas. The Community Development Block Grant will provide the funds for this cause.
- Housing discrimination is an issue in America. As a result, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development appropriated 38 million to promote fair housing practices. There are three categories the agency will place their focus, “Education and Outreach Initiative grants, Fair Housing Organizations Initiative and Private Enforcement Initiative grants.“
August 4, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
August 3, 2017
Thursday’s Advocacy & Think Tank Roundup
- The 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Act was approved by every member of the Senate’s AppropriationsCommittee . The 2018 fiscal year budget permits a 60.06 billion for the nation’s discretionary budget and 40.7 billion for HUD.
- Mel Watt, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, believes shifting the credit scoring system would harm the financial market. Watt further explains two factors which are slowing the credit scoring shift. One factor Watt considers is “ensuring the Common Securitization Platform is fully operational.“
August 3, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
August 2, 2017
Wednesday’s Academic Roundup
- Is All that Twitters Gold? Social Media Attention and Stock Returns, Rakowski, Shirley, and Returns
- There’s No Place Like Home: Reshaping Community Interventions and Policies to Eliminate Environmental Hazards and Improve Population Health for Low-Income and Minority Communities, Benfer and Gold
- US REITs’ Returns Sensitivity to Interest Rates after the Global Financial Crisis, Liu and Morri
- Corruption and Home Bias in Global Real Estate Investments, Sing and Wang
August 2, 2017 | Permalink | No Comments
