Free Republic

“This new policy by the Biden administration is a slap in the face to every consumer in the nation who worked hard to develop a good credit score. Forcing them to subsidize lower scored buyers adds insult to the injury of the higher fees they are now required to pay. This is the latest in a disturbing pattern of Biden’s big government intervention into the lives of hard-working Americans in order to push his progressive social agenda..."

Extremist group Family Heritage Alliance said this morning that the safest place for kids are in families that have a married mom and dad. What a dangerous and un-American belief.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – While many traditional home buyers are being squeezed out of the market by inflated real estate prices and builders are working to keep up with demand amongst the shortage of skilled labor and supplies, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is making it easier for buyers with a load of student debt to purchase their first home. Student debt has risen to historic levels over the past 20 years, putting those who should typically be able to afford a home out of the market completely. Now, the FHA is relaxing the way it assesses student-loan debt when...

Dreamers” will have an easier time receiving home loans from the Biden administration. According to James Fulford of VDARE, the “Dreamers” — illegal aliens whose illegal parents allegedly brought them stateside when they were children — will now be eligible for home loan applications thanks to a change in FHA policy that was brought about right before President Joe Biden took office. Juan Carlos Chavez of The Tampa Bay Times noted that the sudden shift in policy “reflects a contrast in approaches toward immigration by the Biden and Trump administrations.” The previous Trump administration did make genuine efforts to restrict...

When Barack Obama implemented his unilateral amnesty for illegal aliens who claimed to have entered this country before the age of sixteen, the illegally amnestied illegals qualified for many benefits. One of these were FHA loans. FHA loans are government-backed mortgages meant for poorer Americans unable to qualify for normal mortgages. Democrat abuse of the FHA helped lead to the Great Recession and in the years afterward, FHA insured loans hit losses of $70 billion. By 2012, the FHA was $16 billion in the hole and had to be bailed out. The delinquency rate for FHA loans is still more...

The recently departed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) human resources department is under investigation for allegedly enabling sexual harassment in the agency over the course of several years. FEMA Administrator Brock Long told The Washington Post that a seven-month investigation found Corey Coleman, who led the agency’s personnel department since 2011, hired dozens of friends and college fraternity brothers, as well as women he met at bars and through online dating sites. Coleman promoted the individuals without going through the proper channels, and in some cases promoted or transferred women throughout the agency so his friends could...

“What a terrible thing to do to American homeowners,” Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in reaction to the Trump administration’s reversal of a last-minute action by outgoing Obama administration on the FHA home mortgage insurance rate.“In one of his first acts as president, President Trump made it harder for Americans to afford a mortgage by reversing a recent decision by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reduce annual insurance premiums that many borrowers pay,” Schumer complained.William E. Brown, president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), was also upset at the Trump administration’s action. “According to our estimates,...

President Donald Trump’s first executive order blocked a mortgage insurance premium cut that would have reduced the cost of mortgages for millions of middle-class home buyers.

Completes seventh non-performing loan sale. Freddie Mac announced late Friday that it sold $305 million in seriously delinquent loans from its mortgage investment portfolio. The sale, which was initially announced last month, was completed via auction, with two pools containing 1,611 total loans being sold to a pair of buyers. According to Freddie Mac, these loans have been delinquent for approximately two years, on average. In its announcement, Freddie Mac said that given the deep delinquency status of the loans, the borrowers have likely been evaluated previously for or are already in various stages of loss mitigation, including modification or...

It wasn't greed that caused the mortgage mess. In large part, the mess was the product of government policies designed to increase home ownership among the poor and ethnic minorities. Today Peter Wallison points out how Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA created a demand for bad mortgages that encouraged mortgage brokers to generate millions of them. From the Wall Street Journal: Mortgage brokers had to be able to sell their mortgages to someone. They could only produce what those above them in the distribution chain wanted to buy. In other words, they could only respond to demand, not...

Obama Lawless Amnesty Costs Exposed – Congress AWOL? Exposed: Holder Uses Tax Dollars to Attack the Police Judicial Watch Fighting Against Disparate Impact Discrimination in Texas Obama Lawless Amnesty Costs Exposed – Congress AWOL? Despite all the budgetary pressure impacting vital programs of importance to the American people, the Obama administration apparently feels there’s still plenty of money to go around for illegal aliens. That’s what we learned back on September 9, 2014, when we obtained documents from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that showed the Obama Administration paid Baptist Children and Family Services (BCFS) $182,129,786...

Minority residents in the Twin Cities are much more likely than white people of similar incomes to be rejected for a mortgage, whether they’re buying a home or refinancing. If the home sits in a diverse or mainly nonwhite neighborhood, the application is also more likely to get the boot. Those are the findings of a new study from the University of Minnesota Law School suggesting that mortgage redlining remains alive and well in the Twin Cities. The report suggests that while banks may have justifiably tightened up credit standards, they have swung so far that they are cutting off...

The rising insurance rates on Federal Housing Administration mortgages are putting home purchases “increasingly out of reach” for many qualified buyers who rely on FHA financing, National Association of REALTORS® President Steve Brown wrote in a letter to FHA Commissioner Carol Galante. In the letter, Brown urged FHA to lower its annual mortgage insurance premiums. Brown acknowledged the significant losses that FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund faced during the housing crisis. FHA increased its premium structure as one way to reach a required 2 percent capital reserve ratio. But now that the agency is on the path to recovery, NAR...

According to Nick Timiraos at the Wall Street Journal, Housing Agency (FHA) Will Reduce Mortgage-Loan Limits next month. The maximum for single-family homes in certain “high-cost” housing markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York will fall to $625,500, from the current level of $729,750. This is an attempt to bring the FHA back in line with their original mission of supporting first time homebuyers, not the Brad Pitts of the world. Why does the Federal government insure mortgages in expensive cities that are far more costly than middle America? Ask your Congressman. Example. Honolulu leads the nation in...

There are a plethora of housing finance bills being written or circulating. These include the deeply flawed Corker-Warner bill, the Crapo-Johnson bill (that I have not seen), the PATH Act from the House. Now we have another House GSE reform bill, The New Fair Deal Banking And Housing Stability Act of 2013, from Representatives Justin Amash (sponsor), Jeff Duncan, Jim Jordan, Doug Lamborn, Tom McClintock, Mark Meadows, Tom Price and Matt Salmon. The New Fair Deal Banking and Housing Stability Act of 2013 takes decisive action to end the cycle of booms and busts, of bad behavior and bailouts: -...

The climate for mortgage lenders is definitely taking a downward turn. Wells Fargo has released their Q313 Quarterly Supplement which revealed a shrinking mortgage pipeline. WFC Originations_0 (1) Of course, this is not surprising given a rise in mortgage rates starting May 1st (Q2) and declining real household income. rhoinmbrate But the humming dragon lingering in the background is the cost of litigation for originating and servicing mortgage loans. According to JPMorganChase’ Q3 earnings report, they paid a staggering $9.15 billion in pretax legal expenses. JPM Q3 1 addbacks_0 And then there is SunTrust which has been ordered to pay...

According to Kate Berry at American Banker, “The nation’s four largest banks are holding $57 billion of seriously delinquent loans that they’ve been slow to move into foreclosure over concerns that the Federal Housing Administration, the government mortgage insurer, will refuse to cover the losses and hit them with damages, according to industry sources.” The FHA insures home loans issued by banks and other mortgage lenders to low-income and first-time home buyers. Those buyers pay the FHA insurance premiums to cover potential losses. In the event that an FHA-backed loan goes into foreclosure, the lender has the right to file...

Georgetown law professor, Adam Levitan, testified in the US Senate yesterday on “Fundamentals of a Functioning Private Label Mortgage Backed Securities Market.” 172476171-Levitin-Senate-Banking-Testimony-10-1-13 Levitan was a student of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau architect and former Harvard law school professor Elizabeth Warren (now a US Senator). Levitan is a believer in BIG government and everything is the private sector’s fault. “Relying on PLS (Private Label Securities) to serve as the main financing source for the housing market would be a high-risk gamble with the US economy. Instead, a hybrid public-private system with first-loss private capital backstopped by an explicit and priced...

It’s official. The FHA is crawling to Treasury for $1.7 billion. That is, more gruel. And the FHA blames senior citizens for their plight. Washington (AP) — A federal housing agency says it needs a $1.7 billion bailout from the Treasury to cover projected losses in a mortgage programs for seniors. At issue are reverse mortgage programs, which allow seniors to borrow against their homes for everyday living expenses. Carol Galante is Federal Housing Administration Commissioner. Galante wrote Congress Friday that her agency will withdraw the money from the Treasury before the fiscal year ends Monday. Congressional approval is not...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare) may be the worst piece of legislation ever passed by Congress and signed by a President .. and that covers a lot of ground. Why is it so bad? For one, do you REALLY want government in charge of your healthcare? Other than that, Obamacare distorts the healthcare market enormously. See the American Action Forum for an excellent analysis. And Obamacare varies quite a bit by state. Socialist Democrat states like New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Rhode Island and Taxachussets will have lower Obamacare premiums on average. All other states, hold...