Analysts predicted that the Qualified Mortgage rules would produce overly-conservative underwriting policies, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, the National Mortgage Risk Index indicates that risk… Read More »
News
More than one-third (36 percent) of young adults between the ages of 18 and 31 are living with their parents, according to a Pew Research Center report. That’s the highest… Read More »
NO FRACKING
Homeowners considering selling the mineral rights on their property may want to reconsider. The damage caused by “fracking” (a technique for removing natural gas from underground rock) has led Fannie… Read More »
The number of homeowners with negative equity continues to fall, but not fast enough to return the housing market to “normal” any time soon, according to Zillow. At just under… Read More »
With spring arriving finally, if belatedly, it’s getting harder to blame an icy winter for sluggish home sales. New York Times columnist Neil Irwin has another, more disturbing explanation —… Read More »
BUMPER CROP
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is doing a booming business – in consumer complaints. The agency logged nearly 164,000 of them last year, nearly double the 90,000 processed the previous… Read More »
RAPID GROWTH
The Federal Tax Rules, (not the rules themselves, but the IRS explanation of the tax code and the regulations implementing it) now totals 74,608 pages — 34,108 more than in… Read More »
FAST CASH
All-cash home purchase transactions and those on which buyers make higher down payments close more quickly than those financed by low-down payment loans. Mortgage underwriting glitches pose the biggest obstacle,… Read More »
Federal bank regulators have made it clear that they will hold financial institutions responsible for the actions – and lapses – of the vendors with which they do business. This… Read More »
The Washington state Supreme Court has held that a title insurance underwriter may be liable for the allegedly illegal marketing activities of one of its agents. Although Washington state’s restrictions… Read More »