Weekly Brief: BoA Sued; SCOTUS Shortlists; Fund Fights Argentina
Recently, the FHFA announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will update their Flex Modification policies to help struggling borrowers reduce their mortgage payments. Flex Modification would be for eligible borrowers...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2024-07 addressing reconsideration of value (ROV) policies in connection with...more
On May 1, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced new policies that will allow borrowers to challenge property appraisals they believe to be inaccurate or biased....more
On March 15, FHFA delayed the implementation of a new debt-to-income ratio-based fee to August 1, in order to ensure lenders have sufficient time to prepare. In January, FHFA made several changes relating to upfront fees for...more
In July of this year, Fannie Mae announced an update to the Agency’s Seller and Servicer Guidelines to include requirements that mortgage loan sellers and servicers comply with state address confidentiality programs (ADCONs),...more
In This Issue. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will no longer charge lenders the Adverse Market Refinance Fee; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is seeking...more
On July 7, 2021 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced new uniform notes, security instruments and riders. Lenders may begin using the new instruments immediately (Fannie Mae) or for loans originated on or after July 8, 2021...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
March 13, 2021, marked the one-year anniversary of President Trump's declaring COVID-19 a national emergency. Through the CARES Act, agency action and guidance, and various state laws and executive orders, governments across...more
Federal COVID-19 Relief Bill Passes - On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (the “Act”), which includes numerous additional relief: ...more
In the News. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) published its proxy voting guidelines updates for 2021, which include new and updated voting recommendations on federal forum and exclusive forum provisions in companies’...more
This past June, in Barnes v. U.S. National Bank, No. 2180699, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals held that a mortgagee’s notice of acceleration failed to strictly comply with the notice provisions contained in Paragraph 22...more
Three federal agencies who make, guarantee, and insure mortgage loans, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department...more
On May 14, 2020, shortly after the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac COVID-19 payment deferral options were announced, we warned mortgage servicers about the legal risks associated with offering payment deferral programs to...more
On June 17, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed S8428/A10530 and S8243-C/A10351-B into law. Collectively, in relevant part, the legislation creates N.Y. Banking Law § 9-x, which relates to residential forbearances as a result...more
In a new era of double-digit unemployment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be tough for a mortgage lender to predict the amount and stability of someone’s income in order to determine qualification for a home...more
On May 29, 2020, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their COVID-19 FAQs related to the servicing of mortgage loans. The FAQs cover various topics addressed in the agencies’ more recent updates to their COVID-19 servicing...more
It’s been a month since the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law. Although much of the focus and public scrutiny has been on small business relief, the number of mortgage borrowers...more
In this Issue: Senate Votes to Expand Paycheck Protection Program; FHFA (Finally) Addresses Liquidity Concerns for Mortgage Servicers. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation providing $484 billion in...more
Multifamily property owners with federally backed mortgages now have an avenue of relief under the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The law provides up to 90 days of forbearance...more
In response to the challenges posed to U.S. mortgage borrowers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including the Federal Housing...more
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was signed into law. Among other things, the CARES Act allows residential mortgage borrowers with federally-backed loans to obtain a...more
A recap of Carlos Ghosn’s big media moment on Wednesday, which was short on the escape details everyone wanted to hear and long on accusations against other execs at Nissan and Japan’s justice system....more
Fiat Chrysler and rival Peugeot have agreed to binding merger terms that, if approved by US and European regulators, would create a “$50 billion auto giant that would rank among the world’s largest car companies by sales”....more
Following the recent hurricanes that have damaged many homes beyond repair, borrowers may seek to apply any available insurance proceeds to satisfy the outstanding balance on their loans rather than repair the property....more