Green Real Estate Appraiser

Complaints About Mortgage Servicers

Posted on February 15, 2014 | Leave a comment

Got problems with the company that services your home mortgage — the one that collects your payments, keeps track of your escrow account and lets you know when you’re late?

So your monthly numbers don’t look right? You got blown off by servicing personnel when you tried to get inaccuracies in your account corrected?

Well, move over. You’ve got lots of grumpy company.

As of Jan. 31, just under half of the 187,818 complaints filed with the federal watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) concerned mortgage foul-ups, and the vast majority of these involved servicing, loan modification and foreclosure activities by servicers.

But sometimes the problems go beyond run-of-the-mill ineptitude.

As part of its statutory functions, the CFPB sends investigators into the offices of mortgage-servicing firms to check their accounts for evidence of what it calls “unfair and deceptive practices.”

In their latest series of visits and supervisory audits, bureau auditors found shenanigans that might horrify unsuspecting homeowners: Abuses in mandatory cancellations of private mortgage insurance premiums.

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New Rules Toughen Credit Access – Mortgages

Posted on February 14, 2014 | Leave a comment

The verdict was nearly unanimous at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill: The new federal “ability to repay” and “qualified mortgage” regulations that took effect Jan. 10 will make obtaining credit tougher, not easier, this year, and potentially force large numbers of creditworthy home buyers to defer or cancel their plans.

What nobody addressed at the hearing, though, was the elephant in the room: OK, we’ve got a problem. But what, if anything, can buyers who find it difficult to meet the new standards do about it?

The testimony came from mortgage, banking and credit union leaders — even the head of a nonprofit Habitat for Humanity chapter. Though they didn’t dispute the good intentions of Congress or federal regulators in adopting the sweeping changes — banning or severely restricting most of the worst practices and loan features that facilitated the mortgage debacle of the last decade — they said the new rules amount to overkill.

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San Diego – Home Sales at Three Year Low

Posted on February 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

The slowdown in San Diego County’s housing market continued in January, as sales dropped to their lowest levels in three years.

Prices also dipped last month, with the median falling $15,000 from December to $405,000, real estate tracker DataQuick reported Wednesday. Despite the drop, the January median is still up 15.7 percent from January 2012’s median $350,000.

“Two of the bigger questions hanging over the housing market right now are, ‘How much pent-up demand is left out there?’ and, ‘Will inventory skyrocket this year as more owners take advantage of the price run-up?’” DataQuick president John Walsh said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we’ll probably have to wait until spring for the answers. When it comes to statistical trends, January and February are atypical months that haven’t proven to be predictive over the years.”

Last month, there were 2,338 transactions in the county, down from 2,717 in January 2013, and the lowest amount since 2,248 properties changed hands in January 2011. The first month of each year is generally unremarkable when it comes to the housing market because it reflects deals struck during the holiday season, those in the industry say.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Complaints About Mortgage Servicers

New Rules Toughen Credit Access – Mortgages

San Diego – Home Sales at Three Year Low

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