The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) is the largest backer of mortgage credit in our nation. Recently, Fannie set new rules and guidelines that would let homeowners refinance their mortgages to pay off student loans. The new guidelines expand a program that was introduced last year with a personal finance company called Social Finance commonly known as SoFi. Fannie Mae said the resulting policy will be easier for borrowers to apply, and may result in a lower

When you refinance a mortgage, you are paying off one loan and replacing it with a new loan. If you’re thinking of refinancing, begin with asking why you want to refinance? Are you thinking of saving money or solving a bad situation or condition? There are several reasons to refinance such as replacing an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) to a fixed-rate mortgage, tapping into your home’s equity to make repairs or renovations, to buy another home, to consolidate/payoff other hi

The Great Recession of 2008 was the largest financial disaster in over 100 years in our nation. One of the biggest culprits causing the crisis was the existence of subprime mortgages. Sub-prime mortgages were home loans given to borrowers who had bad credit and put very little or no money down when acquiring the loans. These home loans were given out like candy to whoever wanted one. The subprime practice ended during the housing crash that helped cause hundreds of thousands

On December 8, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made changes to its authentication system. This is the system that verifies tax returns that mortgage applicants provide. The system is known as the Income Verification Express System (IVES) and is in place to make sure tax returns aren’t fraudulent. Within five days of the changes, on December 13, mortgage groups were finding problems with the new system. Other groups said problems with the changes began almost immediat

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was introduced in 2009 and established to help homeowners recover from the great housing bubble burst. The HAMP was part of the Making Home Affordable program (MHA) along with the Hardest Hit Fund program (HHF) that was under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). These programs were part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and put into place to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. HAMP and the entire

Lenders may offer distressed homeowners the option of a short sale. A short sale is selling a home for less than what is owed on the loan. There are many reasons a seller will choose a short sale as an option; a transfer of employment, divorce, death of a spouse, retirees who want to move or the property is underwater. There are also reasons not to take a short sale. A short sale can have a negative impact on your credit history and score and not allow you to purchase any rea

Cary McEntee, 58, of Virginia Beach was charged with conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. McEntee and his co-conspirators set up a scheme in Michigan, creating fraudulent real estate transactions using ‘straw buyers’ during 2006 and 2007. (A straw buyer is a person who buys something on behalf of someone else in order to circumvent legal restrictions to enable fraud.) McEntee pled guilty to the charges. The straw buyers were paid to pose as a borrower and apply for a mortgage

Keith Gantenbein, owner and managing attorney of Gantenbein Law Firm, taught a Continuing Education course for real estate agents regarding the new integrated disclosure forms. The CE also covered the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) grace period for the disclosure forms. The new forms are effective August 1, but the CFPB has issued an indefiinte grace period for enforcement. The new disclosure forms replace the HUD1 and GFE forms. Mr. Gantenbein joined with He

Keith Gantenbein, of Gantenbein Law Firm, has partnered with Heritage Title to teach a class today to Remax realtors. Mr. Gantenbein is speaking about the new CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) guidlines for loan estimate and closing disclosures. Mr. Gantenbein comes from a family of realtors, and is a premier real estate attorney located in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Gantenbein has always been passionate about consumer protection issues: the new loan disclosure forms sho

Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) subservices all the mortgage loans for Home Loan Servicing Solutions (HLSS). Mangrove Partners is an investment manager (hedge funds) and one of the largest shareholders of HLSS. HLSS is an affiliate of Ocwen. Mangrove Partners sent HLSS a letter demanding HLSS terminate its business relationship with Ocwen. Mangrove Partners sites a “dereliction of duty” and said it is “imperative” HLSS terminate its servicing relationship with Ocwen “without dela