Links in “Mortgage Lending”

Appeals court finds that homeowners who were denied a modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), even after completing a trial period plan, have legal standing to sue their lender, Wells Fargo. (See also this article.) [8/12]

Federal Housing Finance Agency threatens legal action against local governments who use eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. [8/9]

New supplemental proposal focuses on Higher Priced Mortgage Loan (HPML) exemptions including Manufactured Housing (no land), Streamlined Refis and $25K and Under Loans. [8/8]

Federal Reserve data show that lenders are easing their underwriting standards on real estate and auto loans in response to the increasing net worth and declining debt ratio for the average consumer; Alliance Bernstein in New York reports that household finances are in the best shape they’ve been in a decade. [8/6]

Not many surprises here: mortgage lending will continue to be a strong focus as the agency continues to tweak the new rules that are scheduled to go into effect in January 2014; also, the Bureau is gearing up to issue its final rule on the combined TILA/RESPA disclosure in October 2013 and amending Regs CC and HMDA. [8/5]

Report shows nearly one-third of the homeowners who received permanent mortgage modifications under the HAMP loan program have since defaulted again; critics question whether the $815 million in taxpayer funding of the program was well-spent. [8/2]

Joint agencies propose amendments to their rules published in January 2013 to create exemptions from the rules for transactions secured by existing manufactured homes and not land, certain “streamlined” refinancings, and transactions of $25,000 or less; comment period closes in September. [7/30]

Mortgage servicing company cites incomplete borrower information (such as no HMDA data, and missing signatures), errors in initial disclosures of the Truth in Lending and Good Faith Estimate, and missing or improperly prepared FHA docs. [7/26]

A bill that would eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac faces a floor vote today in the House; passage uncertain due to a provision that would lower the limit for conforming mortgage loans. [7/25]

S. 1349 would exempt community bank portfolio loans from a variety of new mortgage rules to support the housing recovery and provide exemptions for community banks from Sarbanes-Oxley internal-controls assessment mandates. [7/25]