On August 21, the CFPB entered into a consent order with a nonbank mortgage servicer for mortgage servicing violations and for violating an earlier 2017 CFPB consent order for deficient foreclosure practices. In 2017, the...more
On July 9, HUD released Mortgagee Letter 2024-13 which revised Section 203(k) of the Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program and specifically updated the 203(k) Consultant Requirements and Fees among other changes. The FHA...more
On March 12, a putative class action complaint was filed against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for allegedly denying homeowners their Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) refunds upon the early termination...more
In its June 14, 2023, decision in United States ex rel. Michelle Calderon v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, No. 22-1553, 2023 WL 3991013, (7th Cir. 2023), the Seventh Circuit explained the high bar for relators to prove...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
HUD recently announced a reduction to the annual mortgage insurance premium charged to borrowers with FHA-insured loans. HUD estimates that the reduction will save FHA borrowers on average $800 annually. HUD also released...more
On December 19, 2022, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued an additional extension of the temporary waiver of face-to-face contact required under 24 CFR § 203.604 Contact with the Mortgagor, under Mortgagee Actions...more
On December 27, 2020, Congress passed the 5,593 page Consolidated Appropriations Act. The “Act” includes several provisions and extensions of previously expiring provisions relevant to individual taxpayers: MEDICAL EXPENSE...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced on December 2, 2020, the extension of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on single-family foreclosures from December 31, 2020, to January 31, 2021. The moratorium on...more
The Eastern District of California recently granted partial summary judgment to a class of plaintiffs suing a reinsurer and related entities with respect to a reinsurance arrangement regarding private mortgage insurance that...more
On June 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Mortgagee Letter 2020-16 to address the endorsement for FHA insurance of mortgage loans in a COVID-19 forbearance. ...more
On December 20, 2019, the President signed into law House Resolution 1865, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, which is now Public Law 116-94. ...more
On October 28, 2019 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) announcing their joint approach to False Claims Act (FCA)...more
Senior living providers long have considered the bond market to be a primary vehicle for financing. However, not all transactions are a good fit for tax-exempt bonds. State law issuer considerations, transaction and borrower...more
On March 12, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the Winter 2019 edition of its Supervisory Highlights report, detailing key examination findings that were discovered during the second half of 2018....more
A federal district court has dismissed with prejudice a Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) class action filed against JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. and related entities on statute of limitations grounds a year after...more
Reverse mortgage lenders received a significant victory in Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal last week when the court issued its decision in OneWest Bank, FSB v. Palmero. After previously ruling in Smith v. Reverse...more
In this putative class action, plaintiffs alleged unlawful practices related to mortgage insurance practices, including a violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (“RESPA”). ...more
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financings are an alternative financing tool used to finance energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy projects in residential, commercial and industrial properties. PACE financings...more
Following nearly three years of litigation, the D.C. Circuit handed down a 7 to 3 ruling in PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The two hundred fifty page opinion addressed not only the constitutional...more
Through its recent en banc decision in PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the D.C. Circuit reinstated the holding of the three-judge panel regarding the safe harbor provision in Section 8(c) of the Real Estate...more
In July 2016 HUD issued guidance on the use of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) assessments for single family properties with FHA-insured mortgages. In January 2017, HUD followed with guidance on the use of PACE...more
The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a complaint filed by Plaintiff-Rehabilitator, the Illinois Director of Insurance, against Defendant-Reinsurer, Twin Rivers, alleging breach of contract,...more
A district judge in the Northern District of Illinois has dismissed all claims brought by the Illinois Director of Insurance, acting as rehabilitator for Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation and Triad Guaranty Assurance...more
The suit arose out of an arrangement where lenders would refer borrowers to (now-defunct) Triad Guaranty Insurance Company (Triad) to obtain private mortgage insurance. The lender-affiliated captive insurance company would...more