FHA reform this year?

Shared by Maria Herodt, Sevilla Spain
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A recent study by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, aptly titled Tip of the Costberg, estimated that the total unreported cost of all government regulations -- not just those affecting the mortgage industry -- could be as high $1.8 trillion. -- HousingWire
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Georgia real estate prices slipped .2% in 2013.
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Conwy, Wales

Shared by Jana Travnikova
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If House and Senate banking committee leaders decide a larger housing finance reform bill that also addresses the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is out of reach next year, “they could easily pull out FHA reform and just get that done,” says FBR Capital Markets policy analyst Edward Mills. -- Brian Collins, Origination News
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FRENCH ALPES by Chantal Cecchetti
Aiguille du Midi • France via tumblr.com
See original on 500px.com/photo/50510026

Shared by Djordie Majetic
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A separate subset of higher-priced mortgage loans are exempt from certain appraisal requirements to help save borrowers time and money while still ensuring that the loans are financially sound.
The Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Housing Finance Agency, National Credit Union Association and the Office of the Currency of the Comptroller came together to revise certain aspects of Dodd-Frank.
Under Dodd-Frank, closed-end mortgage loans are considered to be higher-priced if they are secured by a consumer's home and have interest rates above a certain threshold. As a result, creditors are required to obtain a written appraisal based on a physical visit to the home before making the loan.
But under the new provision, loans of $25,000 or less and certain “streamlined” refinancing are exempt from the Dodd-Frank Act appraisal requirements that go into effect on Jan. 18, 2014.
The final rule also allows the requirements for manufactured homes to be postponed until July 18, 2015, since they can be difficult to appraise.
However, they are only exempt on the appraiser having to visit the home. Creditors will instead need to use other valuation methods without an appraisal, such as third-party valuation services or “book values.”
Compliance with the January 2013 final rule will become mandatory on Jan. 18, 2014. -- Brena Swanson in HousingWire
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Silvia ZK originally shared:

South Stream, Bled, Slovenia

Shared by Djordie Majetic
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State regulators are pushing for broader exemptions for community banks under new mortgage rules due to take effect next month. -- Rachel Witkowski in Origination News.
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Lending

Policy makers miss housing's sweet spot: The American Middle Class

"People who had been moving forward without college educations (or with them) – getting ahead of where the middle class was -- are now falling back into the middle class," he says. Other members of this new middle class are college graduates, who are stifled by student debt payments and a desire to find apartments that are both affordable and safe.
The problem, says Finkel, is the product they want is not out there in the multifamily segment. And new multifamily construction seems to come in the form of Class-A multifamily housing that caters to higher-income professionals. So will private capital jump in and provide the multifamily market the financing that is needed?
Not likely, says Finkel.
This middle-class group needs affordable, multifamily housing where the rent runs somewhere between $750 to $1,100 per month. Yet, he says, "given the cost of new construction today, in order to make the financing work, developers would need to charge $2,000 a month for an apartment. This is why when you look at new supply in the apartment world, it’s all Class-A rentals in city centers in downtown areas where high-end, educated renters are going to come," Finkel explained.
Kerri Ann Panchuck in HousingWire
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Fannie Mae stopped foreclosure eviction for the holidays, but renewed efforts starting January 3, 2014.
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Interesting style

Shared by Dieter Birr
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