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Mortgage industry pushes for broad legal protections for high-cost loans
Chicago, IL - November 12, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- A mortgage industry-backed legislative push to weaken an effort to encourage lenders to make safe and sustainable loans is likely to kick off in the weeks following the election.
Menendez, Boxer Urge Republicans to Join Them to Help Responsible Homeowners Refinance
WASHINGTON, DC - September 11, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- Citing new momentum and support among a broad array of stakeholders, U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today reintroduced the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act an...
FACT SHEET: President Obama Announces New Steps to Provide Housing Relief to Veterans and...
WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 6, 2012 - (RealEstateRama) -- In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a Blueprint for an America Built to Last, calling for action to help responsible borrowers and support a housing market recovery. While the government cannot fix the housing market on its own, the President believes that responsible homeowners should not have to sit and wait for the market to hit bottom to get relief when there are measures at hand that can make a meaningful difference.
Federal Proposal Could Raise Refinance Costs for Nearly 25 Million Homeowners
WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 29, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Nearly 25 million homeowners across the country would face more expensive mortgages if a proposal by federal regulators goes unchanged. A proposal released by six federal agencies to implement credit risk retention provisions included in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act would require homeowners to have at least 25 percent equity in their homes in order to qualify for a lower-rate "Qualified Residential Mortgage" (QRM) for refinancing. An analysis of the CoreLogic data shows 24.8 million U.S. homeowners – more than half of all U.S. homeowners with a mortgage - have less than 25 percent equity in their homes.Homeowners looking to refinance but fail to qualify for a QRM will be subject to additional costs associated with lenders' risk retention requirements included in the Dodd-Frank bill. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, consumers in a non-QRM loan could pay between 0.80 and 1.85 percentage points more in interest rate, simply because they could not meet the down payment or equity requirements.
