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Lead Story
Is President Obama Finally Circling the Wagons for Mortgage Regulation? (0)
1/26/12 •
In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, President Obama finally showed the nation that he’s coming around to the same understanding as all the real estate agents. Homeowners need help now.
The president asked for the creation of a new task force charged with investigating housing fraud. This unit, composed of Attorneys General from multiple states, will investigate mortgage fraud and other practices that helped lead to the housing crisis.
This team will “hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”
This welcome news comes over a year after the same kind of coalition began investigating major banks and their flawed foreclosure malpractices including robo-signing. This new team will be expanding the former investigation to include lending and securitization issues.
In addition, Obama said he will be submitting a plan to Congress that will give responsible homeowners a chance to save $3,000 on their mortgages each year.
Finally Obama has decided to address the the sector that needs his help the most. As we’ve been saying all along, if the real estate market gets a boost, the whole economy will benefit from it.
Will Obama’s plan provide the relief that he is hoping for? With all the additional task forces set up to regulate and enforce mortgage practices, will we finally see some things changing in 2012?
Please share your thoughts below.
Open House Robbery Puts Agent Safety Back in Spotlight (1)
1/25/12 •
As a result of the recent LA robbery during an open house, the Pacific West Association of Realtors (PWAR) has issued a warning to its members to be careful and aware of their surroundings at open houses.
No one was harmed in the robbery in Orange County, CA, but the prospective homebuyer, whom police report the robber likely targeted and followed to the open house, did lose some cash.
“There haven’t been any other incidents this year that I know of,” said Nancy Gilmore, CEO of PWAR. “We just want to make sure people are safe when they’re showing open houses,” she said.
Crimes against real estate agents have continued to increase in 2010. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 940 assaults against real estate agents, up from 620 in 2009 and 170 in 2008.
RE-Insider would like to add our own note of caution. While it’s impossible to avoid danger entirely, please practice extreme care when on the job.
CFPB, FTC Reach Deal to Prevent Doubling Efforts to Protect Consumers (2)
1/23/12 •
Two protectors may be better than one, but not if they’re doing the same work.
After finally appointing Richard Cordray director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the government is seeking to eliminate some unnecessary red tape to allow the consumer-oriented agency to do what it was supposed to do – actually help consumers.
The CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) signed an agreement this week that says the agencies will work together to avoid regulatory redundancies when enforcing rules that impact lenders and other financial services firms.
The agencies will hold regular meetings where they will discuss how to coordinate enforcement efforts, rulemaking activities and other services. In what should be a case of the obvious, each agency agreed to inform the other before launching an investigation or enforcement action against a firm.
The contract also stipulates the agencies will meet routinely to discuss rulemaking and guidance initiatives, while also sharing all consumer complaints that reach their respective organizations.
The FTC’s enforcement actions often intersect with the mortgage finance space that is now mostly under the oversight of the CFPB.
While this probably won’t affect the way the consumer sees the enforcement, it’s important for agents to note the different regulatory bodies and how they will conduct investigations.
