SBR-Authors Podcast: Finding True Happiness Through Acts of Kindness: A Conversation with Karen Olson
Creative Housing Solutions Pop Up Across Oregon
Affordable Housing on the Front Range: Inclusionary Housing Ordinances and the New Middle Income Housing Authority
Office-to-Apartment Conversions – A Good Idea, but Tricky to Pull Off (Audio)
Episode 15 | Hot! Hot! Hot! Don't get Burned by the Perils of Buying and Selling Residential Real Estate
California CRE to Expand in 2022
The Wall Street Journal has reported that recent bankruptcies nationwide in the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) segment of the long-term care marketplace have resulted in residents losing their buy-in deposit....more
Recently the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rescinded various FHA mortgage loan requirements in a series of five Mortgagee Letters....more
In a significant policy shift under the Trump administration, the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued an order on March 25, 2025 terminating special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) supported...more
We conclude our three-part blog series with a look at the affordable housing crisis. It is an omnipresent challenge facing many communities across the United States. From small towns like Kerrville, Texas, to bustling cities...more
On January 11, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued two new advisory opinions: Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening and Fair Credit Reporting; File Disclosure. The advisory opinions are part of...more
A new FTC blog post titled “Tenant background check reports: Put it in writing” reminds landlords, property managers, and other housing providers of their obligation under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide notice of...more
On February 22, FHA announced a 30 basis point reduction in the annual premium charged to mortgage borrowers, resulting in mortgage insurance premiums of 0.55 percent for most borrowers seeking FHA-insured mortgages (down...more
On July 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint and proposed consent order in a federal district court alleging that a mortgage company...more
Late last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took another step toward adopting rules governing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms in appraising home values. Specifically, the CFPB...more
In the wake of the tragic condominium building collapse in Surfside, Florida, Fannie Mae issued new temporary eligibility guidelines for loans insured by Fannie Mae for condominium units or co-op apartments which are...more
Yesterday, Ginnie Mae clarified in an industry forum that its APM 21-06 seasoning requirements for the VA IRRRL Refinance of a Modified Loan are measured from the contracted first payment due date under a modification...more
Ginnie Mae clarifies its MBS Guide with respect to seasoning of VA IRRRLs that are a “Refinance of a Modified Loan.” Issuers had challenged Ginnie Mae’s buy out demands that claimed insufficient seasoning when measured from...more
Issuers should be aware that Ginnie Mae interpreting its MBS guide in a manner that departs from VA circular 26-19-22, and the plain reading of statutory language with respect to the beginning and ending dates used to...more
At the beginning of his term, President Biden declared that his administration would make it a policy to eliminate “racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all states of home-buying and renting.”...more
For the upcoming 2020 NMLS Annual Conference & Training taking place February 18-21 in San Francisco, individuals are reminded to submit discussion items to the NMLS Ombudsman by Friday, January 24, to be addressed during an...more
What legislative activity can we expect in 2020 in the area of housing finance reform? With the Senate kicking off the New Year with an impeachment trial, it is highly unlikely Congress will make much headway on housing...more
The NMLS Reinstatement Period began on January 2, 2020, and will end on February 29, 2020. This period allows individuals and companies that failed to renew their licenses by December 31 to request renewal. ...more
The New York Department of Financial Services has sent a letter to the institutions that it regulates requiring each such institution, by February 7, 2020, to provide to DFS a description of its “plan to address its LIBOR...more
The United States and Mexico appear poised to move past a last-minute snag over new language on Labor Department attaches to posts in Mexico. Mexico feared that the diplomats would “act as labor inspectors,” and for a day or...more
Tomorrow, October 23, the House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing entitled “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors.” ...more
We continue to gauge the potential for Congress to act on the administration’s housing finance plan and/or pass their own before adjourning for the year. When Congress returned from August recess, members faced an ambitious...more
AARMR and CSBS are hosting a National Mortgage Policy Summit for policymakers, regulators, and the industry on November 13, 2019 in Washington, D.C. ...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced that it will allow the so-called “GSE patch” to expire in January 2021. This patch permits Government-Sponsored Entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy...more
Now midway through the first session of the 116th Congress, the House and Senate have yet to act on housing reform legislation. Most recently, Mark Calabria, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced a nearly 7% increase in the conforming mortgage loan limits for 2019....more