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
HM Treasury has announced the launch of a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme, aimed at supporting first-time buyers and home movers across the UK. The scheme enables access to 91–95% loan-to-value mortgages, allowing buyers...more
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Recently the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rescinded various FHA mortgage loan requirements in a series of five Mortgagee Letters....more
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it will end the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program on May 1, 2025. This decision comes just shy of one year since the program’s...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
Overview - On 22 May 2024, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that he had requested permission from King Charles III to dissolve parliament and call a general election. The election will take place on 4 July 2024....more
In our latest roundup, big bank exposure to CRE lending grows, concerns for the construction industry abound, U.S. hotel securitized loans come due, and more!...more
Welcome to the latest edition of the Spectrum, covering hot-topic issues in the structured finance markets in the U.S. and UK. This edition features the shifting single-family rental landscape, what’s next for EDGAR, and...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
On Oct. 30, President Joe Biden issued an executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence. The executive order provides a sprawling list of directives aimed at establishing standards for AI safety...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
Recently, the FHFA issued a request for input (RFI) on a single-family pricing framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs), including feedback on policy priorities and goals that FHFA should pursue in its oversight of the...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
Recently, HUD announced plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH). The new rule will update a 2015 final rule that was intended to implement the Fair...more
This summer, Sandra Thompson, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”), announced, as part of her testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, that the FHFA would be undergoing a comprehensive...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
Biden Administration Extends Student Loan Pause Until January 31, 2022 - "The Department believes this additional time and a definitive end date will allow borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the...more
On April 21, 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will extend certain loan origination flexibilities, including alternative appraisals on purchase and rate-term refinance...more