Ocwen Financial Corporation President Ronald M. Faris, has testified before Congress, voicing the mortgage servicer's support of the Obama Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and recommended enhancements that Ocwen believes would make the program more effective at preventing foreclosures and helping distressed homeowners.Read more

National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently had an opportunity to chat with David H. Stevens, Assistant Secretary for Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), and 27th Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).Read more

There is no doubt that the housing industry would have led us into a depression had the government not intervened with strong action during the past 12 months. Many are complaining that the government spent too much money and we will be paying for generations to come. However, not many in the mortgage industry are complaining about the programs that specifically help the housing and mortgage markets. Just as I am sure that not many in the auto industry complained about the Cash for Clunkers Program.Read more

Congress has extended the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and expanded it to include a $6,500 tax credit for move-up homebuyers who have lived in their primary homes for at least five out of the last eight years. We have only a few short months (until April 30, 2010) to generate business with this incentive. How can we get the maximum benefit out of this?Read more

By investing in communities the real estate finance industry has played a critical role in the American economy. The turmoil of the last couple of years in the industry has, however, threatened this critical responsibility.Read more

The following is a statement from Conrad Egan, president and chief executive officer of the National Housing Conference (NHC), on the Obama Administration's Cash for Caulkers Program, a governmental initiative that would help create and save an estimated 360,000 to 500,000 jobs, among other impacts: "NHC applauds recent efforts to develop incentives for home energy-efficiency retrofits, and urges Congress and the Administration to work together to authorize a "cash for caulkers" program that would help to create jobs, improve residential energy-efficiency, and reducRead more

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement regarding recent press reports on FHA loan limits: “Recent press reports about FHA loan limits have created the mistaken impression that federal loan limits allow loans up to $729,750 anywhere in the country. This is simply not true. In fact, there are only 77 counties where an FHA loan as large as $729,750 can be made, and less than 2% of FHA’s outstanding loan portfolio consists of loans which exceed $417,000, the previous GSE conforming loan limit.Read more

The Community Mortgage Lenders of America (CML America) has released a letter (see attached) to congressional leaders warning that proposals under consideration by Congress will have a devastating effect on mortgage lending and increase risk in the mortgage system. "If enacted, the proposals in Congress to impose new capital requirements on Main Street mortgage lenders effectively spells the end of the community mortgage banker, resulting in less competition and fewer choices for borrowers,” said Scott Stern, chairman of CML America.Read more

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) is on the way and its gestation stage will not be as long as many expect.¹ Although its nascence will endure the inevitable crucible of politics churned out by the Congress, federal and state regulatory bodies, bank and non-bank industry lobbyists, and eminent legal scholars,² the actors in this drama seem to argue, at one extreme, for a CFPA with robust oversight and regulatory enforcement authorities, and, at the other extreme, some kind of oversight agency that reviRead more

“Uncle Sam Wants You.” That’s the word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which is soliciting feedback on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) during a 30-day public comment period. The NFIP is a federal program created by Congress in 1968. It was designed to ensure that communities across the country have access to affordable flood insurance, as well as to encourage community floodplain management to reduce future flood damage. The NFIP is currently running a deficit of more than $19 billion.Read more