The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that as the federal government nears shutdown and hundreds of thousands of employees may be furloughed, only mail carriers, the military, and air traffic controllers would remain on the job. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) operations would cease during …
According to the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR), the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) statistics show shipments of manufactured housing continued to fall through the first two months of this year by 15 percent over the same period 2010. Production numbers in their report from 2009 to 2010 …
MHARR Meets with Congressional Leaders, Express Concerns over Sagging Sales Read More
HousingWire reports the American Bankers Association (ABA) told the House Financial Services Committee that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) needs the checks and balances of a commission to head the massive agency instead of just the director. Speaking for the ABA, Leslie Anderson, of Bennington Bank in Nebraska, …
Bankers Say CFPB Should Be Directed by a Commission Read More
HousingWire reports that while the House Financial Services Committee has proposed eight bills to revamp Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, securities broker Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) say the legislation will do little to promote mortgages moving to the private sector from the GSEs (government sponsored enterprises). Instead it deals …
HousingWire says Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.) announced that the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is safe despite President Obama’s proposal to cut itemized deductions 30 percent, including the MID. Interest on a mortgage under $1 million for couples and under $500 thousand for singles can be fully deducted from tax returns. …
HousingWire reports the Federal Reserve has proposed a rule to tie the risks that heads of financial institutions take to their compensation packages. The rule applies to institutions with one billion or more in assets, and is also part of the Dodd-Frank Act. Lawmakers wanted to examine executives who put …
According to Maine’s Morning Sentinel, the SAFE (Secure and Fair Enforcement) Act for Mortgage and Licensing of 2008 will take effect April 1, requiring loan originators to have state licenses. The state’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (BCCP) says they have received 1,550 applications, but there are 18,000 loan officers …
SourceMedia Group News reports from Iowa that Senate bill 252 has been defeated 23-25. This bill was designed to protect manufactured homeowners from predatory lenders, and give residents rights equivalent to those of apartment dwellers. But according to Joe Kelly, Exec. VP of the Iowa Manufactured Housing Association (IMHA), it …
In a related development to the previous story on the mortgage servicers’ scorecard, HousingWire said 50 Democrats signed a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlining changes that should be made to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). These include not doing a foreclosure and loan modification program at …
HousingWire reports that the Treasury Department will begin grading mortgage servicers in April as to their performance through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Assistant Treasury Secretary Tim Massad said a scorecard will be issued quarterly on the compliance of the ten largest HAMP servicers. Through February, 600,000 modifications to …
Mortgage Servicers to Get Scorecard on Their Performance Read More
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an announcement that section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) regarding mortgage risk retention is being revamped. A proposed rule change will be in the Federal Register for public comment when the process is …
HousingWire says one of the discussions at a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) meeting with federal regulators centered on giving delinquent homeowners each $21,000 in a cash-for-keys program. The regulators are working with attorneys-general of all 50 states and major lenders to reach a settlement involving faulty affidavits used to …
Discussions Center on Resolving Mortgage Servicers’ Errors Read More
According to SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction, in the face of a possible attempt by Congress to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction (MID) as a means of budget cutting, Rep. Gary Miller (R.-CA) has introduced legislation to retain the deduction. The mortgage interest deduction allows taxpayers to deduct the mortgage interest from their income. …
NAHB Supports Keeping the Mortgage Interest Deduction Read More
HousingWire.com reports Elizabeth Warren telling the Independent Community Bankers Association that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will reduce regulatory costs for smaller financial institutions. Warren, the builder of the CFPB and likely first director, said the first order of business will be to combine the Trust in Lending …
CFPB Set to Support Smaller Financial Institutions Read More
HousingWire.com says legislation that gives a homeowner the opportunity to go through a foreclosure mediation process before the default judgment is issued, passed out of the Connecticut Assembly’s banks committee. The homeowner would be given sufficient time to seek mediation assistance. Meanwhile, a bill introduced in Congress would provide HUD …
Foreclosure Mediation Assistance in Connecticut and Congress Read More
The East Dubuque Register reports that effective Jan.1 of this year, the Illinois legislature has changed the method for taxing manufactured homes. If you remain in a licensed manufactured home community, you will continue to be taxed based on the square footage and the age of your home according to …
Illinois Law Penalizes for Moving Manufactured Home Read More
RealEstateRama reports that the Manufactured Housing Institute’s (MHI) annual Legislative Conference in the nation’s capitol resulted in 20 percent more meetings with Members of Congress and staff than last year. Said Thayer Long, executive vice-president of MHI, “The message to Congress is simple. For the past two decades manufactured housing …
Following up on a post from Feb. 21 from TheTandD.com, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, the Cope Town Council approved a final ruling to ban future locations of manufactured housing within the town limits. Current homes will be grandfathered in. A manufactured home sitting on property that is sold will be given …
HousingWire.com reports the House of Representatives voted to end the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) which began with HUD’s Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) in 2008 with $3.9 billion. Recipients use the funds to rehab empty residential properties and resell them. Owner-occupants are given two weeks to bid on them …
According to HousingWire.com, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives said they could not find time on the floor to bring a vote to end the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Intended to reach three to four million troubled homeowners by 2012, servicers have begun only 600,000 applications in …
