On Tuesday, industry experts met to discuss the qualified mortgage rule before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. The primary issue of those speaking before the subcommittee concerned the notion of certain borrowers being excluded from the lending system due to poorly-defined rules established in the Dodd-Frank Act.Click to continue

DocMagic Inc. announced that its Dodd-Frank Implementation Roadmap Webinar attracted a capacity crowd, with more than 2,000 people requesting a spot at the virtual table, making it the most popular online event the company has presented this year. The program, which aired May 15, was the first in a series that the company is offering to the industry and was designed to help those who may be subject to the final Dodd-Frank Rules jumpstart implementation of the Rules. Other webinars in the series include the Ability-to-Pay/Qualified Mortgage, Loan Officer Compensation and HOEPA.Click to continue

BuckleySandler LLP has announced that Benjamin K. Olson, former Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of Regulations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has joined the firm as Counsel in its Washington, D.C. office.Click to continue

Clint Cornett is chief executive officer and founder of Texas-based ValuTrac Software, Inc., a software solutions provider to the appraisal management and mortgage lending industries. ValuTrac allows appraisal management companies, banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders to operate more efficiently, enhance customer service, mitigate risk and ensure industry regulatory compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act, Interagency Guidelines, Fannie Mae Appraiser Independence Requirements and FHA Appraisal Requirements.Click to continue

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that it is directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a qualified mortgage (QM), including those that meet the special or temporary qualified mortgage definition, and loans that are exempt from the “ability-to-repay” requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.Click to continue

Change can be good; however, it depends on your perspective. These days, you might be hard-pressed to find many mortgage-related companies excited about the changes brought about during the last five years. In fact, some mortgage professionals said change was inevitable due to some of the industry’s flawed business practices.Click to continue

NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals has wrapped up its 2013 Legislative & Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C. Day one of the event featured a Compliance Symposium geared toward bringing attendees up to speed on the latest regulations that govern the mortgage business.Click to continue

“In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we foresee them.”―What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen¹, Frédéric BastiatClick to continue

The 2012 Loan Originator Survey has been released by Mortgage Daily, providing insight into issues impacting mortgage loan officers. The survey was sponsored by StreetLinks Lender Solutions and co-sponsored by Champions School of Real Estate. A majority of the male-dominated group was employed by non-bank firms, in contrast to the bank-dominated overall population. Originators are the sales people of the industry and the face of home lending for many consumers. Today's typical originator has over a decade of experience. Click to continue

Class Appraisal Inc. has announced that John P. Hamameh Esq. has joined the company as in-house counsel and compliance attorney. Following the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, individual states have been required to develop their own state regulations and registration requirements pertaining to Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs). These regulations are still developing; therefore compliance can be difficult. Hamameh has been brought on board not only to assist with Class Appraisal’s compliance, but also to bring clarification to the industry as a whole.Click to continue