REFinBlog

August 21, 2017

Tuesday’s Regulatory & Legislative Roundup

• The challenges associated with student loans are not improving says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Borrowers owing $50,000 or more have tripled in the past 12 years. Furthermore, many of these borrowers are not making use of income based plans. If borrowers took advantage of the plan, he or she would reduce the amount being payed out while remaining current on their loans.
• The city of San Antonio created a housing task force due to the city’s issue with gentrification and affordable housing. The task force intends to create a plan that will outlast the current mayor’s eight year term and reach the next generation. Mayor Nirenberg tasked Lourdes Castro-Ramirez to lead the task force.

Monday’s Adjudication Roundup

• A New Jersey attorney attempted to disqualify the attorney from representing a condo association. The attorney’s representation stemmed from insurance coverage during Superstorm Sandy. The opposing attorney accused its adversary of allowing too much time to lapse before filing their motion.
• In California, a family experienced a “Kafakaesque nightmare,” foreclosure with Bank of America. During the foreclosure proceedings the family experienced heart attacks and suicide attempts. A court hearing approved a tentative $6 million settlement.

August 18, 2017

Friday’s Government Reports Roundup

• The Federal Housing Finance Agency extended the Home Affordable Modification Program (HARP) program until December 2018. This extension comes as no shock because the agency has extended the program a number of times in years prior. Currently, the agency is searching for the best way to bridge HARP with an updated program so as not to hurt the economy and current homeowners.
• In the 2015-2016 school year, approximately 100,000 New York City children were homeless. The Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness predicts that one in seven New York City public school children will experience homelessness during their elementary years and within the past six years roughly 140,000 students experienced homelessness.

August 17, 2017

Thursday’s Advocacy & Think Tank Roundup

• Mortgage rates hit their lowest point since Trump was elected to president. Despite the lower mortgage rates, home seekers are not applying for home loans. In fact, home mortgage applications increased a mere 0.1 percent in the week prior. One may believe any increase is good for the economy; however, at this time last year, home mortgage applications were 22% higher.
• Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies recently analyzed homes and their energy efficiency. The study determined homes are more energy efficient than they were in the early 2000s. For instance, in 2009, most homes built before 1980 were not properly insulated. Today, that is not the case, these same homes have received energy audits and have better energy efficient heating systems.

August 16, 2017

Wednesday’s Academic Roundup

• A Cross-Country Study of Market-Based Housing Finance, Anderson and Kauko
• The Effect of Tax Expenditures on Automatic Stabilizers: Methods of Evidence, Kingi and Rozema
• You Can’t Lock the Doors! Are Lenders Powerless to Stop Zombie Properties in Lien Theory States?, Harris
• Reexamining the Empirical Relation between Loan Risk and Collateral: The Roles of Collateral Characteristics and Types, Berger, Frame, and Ioannidou
• Sectoral Loan Concentration and Bank Performance (2001-2014), Regehr and Sengupta

August 15, 2017

Tuesday’s Regulatory & Legislative Roundup

• Anna Maria Farias was recently named Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Farias is responsible for “housing discrimination, promote economic opportunity, and achieve diverse, inclusive communities.“
• New York City now offers legal representation to all low-income residents facing eviction. Mayor Bill de Blasio signed this law into effect on August 11, 2012. Any resident with a looming eviction whose income rises to a “200 percent of the federal poverty level or less will receive state provided representation.” In New York, 90% of landlords are represented by counsel while tenants are usually unrepresented.

August 14, 2017

Monday’s Adjudication Roundup

• Homeowners in California are close to receiving what’s owed to them.  A San Francisco federal judge approved a preliminary settlement of $750,000 for the bank’s role in their prior loan modifications.
• A D.C. Circuit panel determined a United States Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigator was potentially harmed by the agency’s refusal to approve a lateral transfer. In a sudden shift, the court recently reversed its prior ruling.
• A township is excited. A New Jersey state appeals court ruled that a Montclair homeowner will not have its attorney’s fees paid by the municipality. This ruling stems from the construction of an assisted living facility.