The overlap between federal and state laws and regulations becomes very apparent once there is an examination and/or an enforcement action. With COVID dominating our work environment over the past two years, not many audits or exams were scheduled by state regulators. That is all about to change. They...
With the new URLA behind us…along comes the next major change in residential lending. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (aka the GSEs) have provided an update on the new URAR. Yes, the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report is undergoing some major changes.  Here are just a few highlights: Input was gathered...
With rates going up, refinance volume quickly heading south and originators looking for the next shiny thing, we are bound to see movement in the industry. That means mergers, buyouts and some companies closing. Migrating originators can be a tricky challenge for the next employer. There are two issues...
With the pandemic pointing toward endemic, it’s a relief that the GSEs are starting to look at removing some of the COVID-related guidelines.  Self-employed borrowers may find it a bit easier to qualify for a mortgage now…,just in time as rates head up. Fannie Mae just released an update effective...
How does a mortgage company meet the statutory requirement for Anti-Money Laundering education? The question comes up because many companies do not comply with the annual education requirement for all employees. In our opinion the law and regulations on AML training is purposely not specific because the term education...
Mortgage Processing Fundamentals is an on-demand, video recorded program which presents the base of knowledge needed to succeed at residential mortgage processing. The course is written and presented by a 25-year seasoned loan originator who has processed her own loans. The fundamentals are universal and can be applied to...
As someone who has followed this topic for many years, with many debates, I’ve heard it all. Just today, posts on Facebook brought it up…again! What’s different now is a few weeks ago, I decided to get reliable information from a reliable source. To help clear up the confusion,...
Ahhh…another industry change while volume is at an all time high! Just what we need in 2021! We started talking about the new URLA in 2018; and then it changed…and then it changed again. Finally! After several years of the GSE’s designing formats, revising (adding and deleting) data points,...
Real estate transactions are the easiest way to launder money due to the size of the transactions and the amount of money that can be “cleaned”. All financial institutions are required to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act. Money laundering may also involve tax fraud as well as other...
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect...
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect...
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect...
You wouldn’t know we were in the middle of a pandemic based on the housing market. That conforming limit keeps creeping up. It all seems crazy from when I started in the mortgage business in 1994, the conforming loan limit was $225,000. Fast forward 26 years…the 2020 limit was...
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect...
Money laundering is a huge problem for financial institutions and monitoring compliance and reporting is a challenge. As I read through FinCEN’s recent announcement, it became clear…the law is not really clear! Because real estate transactions are large in dollars, they are one of the easiest places to “clean...
