From the category archives:

Mortgages

FHA Tightens Mortgage Requirements: Lending Costs To Rise

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. January 26, 2010 Closings

I’m happy to welcome guest blogger, Patrick Maddigan, Esq.,the Director of Operations and Business Development at our new entity, TitleHub Closing Services. Pat is writing today on the new FHA lending changes.

On January 20th, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it would tighten certain lending requirements and guidelines with the purpose of reducing risk and [...]

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The New Good Faith Estimate (GFE): Some Glaring Omissions

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. February 2, 2010 Closings

Lenders have been using the new Good Faith Estimate for a little over one month now. Gauging from the vociferous complaining in the lender blogosphere, it is an understatement to say that many lenders believe HUD really blew it with this new form. One would think that the new 3 page GFE would provide everything [...]

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The USDA Loan: Not Just for Farmers Anymore

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. January 29, 2010 FHA

I’m pleased to welcome back guest blogger, David M. Gaffin, a licensed Loan Officer with Greenpark Mortgage Corp. of Needham MA. You can visit him at Greenpark Mortgage or through his LinkedIn profile.
Dave is here to talk about USDA loans which are, surprisingly, available in such *rural* areas of Massachusetts such as Hopkinton, Sudbury, Ashland, [...]

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Lenders React To Loan Worksheet Controversy, Express Frustrations With New GFE And RESPA Rules

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. January 24, 2010 Closings

My post on lenders using loan cost worksheets and estimates was the featured post on ActiveRain yesterday, spawning over 140 comments by last count. It turned into quite a lively discussion by mortgage lenders about how frustrated they are with the new Good Faith Estimate and RESPA rules. After digesting all the comments, I have [...]

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RESPA Fallout: Lenders Combat Deficiencies With New Good Faith Estimate Through “Loan Worksheets”

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. January 20, 2010 HUD

The Los Angeles Times and other media outlets are claiming that lenders’ use of loan cost worksheets and estimates are a “sidestep” of the new RESPA mandated Good Faith Estimate which went into effect on January 1. HUD officials say they plan to conduct a review of the growing use of “worksheets” and “fee estimate” [...]

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In Search Of A “Good Faith Accurate,” Not Just A Good Faith Estimate: A Senior Loan Officer’s Review Of The New 2010 RESPA Rules

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. January 6, 2010 Closings

I’m pleased to welcome another guest blogger, David M. Gaffin, a licensed Loan Officer with Greenpark Mortgage Corp. of Needham MA. Dave is licensed to originate in MA, NH and FL. You can visit him at Greenpark Mortgage or through his LinkedIn profile.
The new 2010 RESPA rules are all the rage right now. So I’m [...]

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New RESPA Rules 2010: Disclosure of Settlement Services, Closing Attorneys’ Fees, And Title Insurance

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. January 3, 2010 Closings

In this post, I’ll discuss a very important issue to lenders, closing attorneys and borrowers alike: how the new RESPA rules handle the disclosure of closing attorney fees/costs and title insurance.
The new RESPA rules significantly change the way lenders must disclose settlement services, in particular closing attorneys’ fees, and title insurance. Generally, under the new [...]

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Ibanez Ruling Foreclosure Update: Nothing Much To Report

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. December 23, 2009 Foreclosure

Update (2/25/10)–Mass. High Court May Take Ibanez Case
I’ve been asked several times recently for an update on the status of Land Court judge Keith Long’s controversial ruling in U.S. Bank v. Ibanez, which invalidated thousands of foreclosures across Massachusetts. Click here for my prior post on the case.
Unfortunately for those affected by the decision, not [...]

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RESPA Update: HUD Issues New Settlement Cost Booklet and Powerpoint Presentation

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. December 21, 2009 Condominium Law

With 11 days and counting until all lenders and closing attorneys must be in compliance with the new RESPA requirements and the new Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 Settlement Statement, HUD has released two helpful documents:

Shopping For Your Home Loan: HUD’s Settlement Cost Booklet. Loan originators are required to provide consumers with a copy [...]

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New FHA Condominium Guidelines: Financially Sound Projects = Better Investments

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. December 9, 2009 Condominium Law

I’m getting pretty tired of all the condominium developers and realtors out there claiming and clamoring that the new FHA condominium guidelines which went into effect this week are the next coming of the Apocalypse. The fact remains that the new guidelines will ensure that condominiums are financially sound and well-run, and that’s good news [...]

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Final (Hopefully!) Revised FHA Condominium Lending Guidelines Issued

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. November 21, 2009 Condominium Law

After several revisions and delays, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has finally issued major changes to its revised guidelines on mortgage insurance requirements for condominium projects. FHA first proposed the revisions back in June (under Mortgagee Letter 2009-19). The new guidelines are effective December 7, 2009; however, some of the requirements are phased in through January 31, 2010.
There [...]

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HUD Announces Delay In Enforcement Of New RESPA Rules For 120 Days

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. November 14, 2009 Closings

For my entire series on the new 2010 RESPA rules, look to the right under “Spotlight On: RESPA Reform” or click here.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Friday that it will not enforce for a 120 day period new, sweeping regulatory changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) [...]

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FHA To Ease New Condominium Guidelines–Spot Loan Approval Extended Until Feb. 1

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. November 10, 2009 Condominium Law

Update: 11/10/09–FHA Issues Final Revised Guidelines–Spot Approvals Extended Until Feb. 1, 2010
With an eye on the “volatility” of the condo market, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has backed off some of the stingy new rules for condominium lending set to be implemented Dec. 7.
After a meeting with the Mortgage Bankers Association last week, the FHA [...]

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Lenders To Appeal Controversial Ibanez Foreclosure Ruling Of Massachusetts Land Court

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. November 3, 2009 Foreclosure

Banker and Tradesman is reporting that Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank will appeal the controversial U.S. Bank v. Ibanez Massachusetts Land Court decision that stung the lenders earlier this year by invalidating two foreclosures in Springfield because of improperly recorded mortgage assignments.
Lenders filed the appeal on Oct. 29, according to Lawrence Scofield, a senior real [...]

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The Long And The Short Of It: A Massachusetts Short Sale Legal Primer

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. October 21, 2009 Massachusetts Real Estate Law

A short sale is special type of real estate transaction between a homeowner, his mortgage holder, and a third party buyer. In a short sale, the homeowner’s mortgage company agrees to take less than what is owed on the outstanding mortgage, thereby being left “short.” In some but not all cases, the lender will agree [...]

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Massachusetts Land Court Reaffirms Controversial Ibanez Ruling Invalidating Thousands Of Foreclosures

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. October 14, 2009 Foreclosure

Update (2/25/10)–Mass. High Court May Take Ibanez Case
Today, Massachusetts Land Court Judge Keith Long reaffirmed his controversial ruling made back in March 2009 that invalidated foreclosure proceedings involving two Springfield homes because the lenders did not hold clear titles to the properties at the time of sale. A copy of the decision can be found [...]

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The Catch-22 Impact Of New Fannie Mae (FNMA) Condominium Lending Regulations

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. July 1, 2009 Condominium Law

Recent Fannie Mae (FNMA) condominium lending regulations are beginning to live up to the hype as having an onerous impact on condominium sales and project development. The changes, made in January, were part of an effort by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to limit risky lending in a segment of the housing market [...]

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New Stricter FHA Condominium Lending Regulations and Guidelines Sure To Slow Financing And Chill Sales

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. October 6, 2009 Condominium Law

Update: 11/10/09–THESE RULES HAVE CHANGED. Please see my post: FHA Issues Final Revised Guidelines–Spot Approvals Extended Until Feb. 1, 2010
Update: 10/26/09–The FHA Has Delayed Implementation Of New Rules Until December 7, 2009

Under revised guidelines which were to be effective October 1, 2009 but now delayed until November 2, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) [...]

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Electronic Real Estate Closings (E-Closings): The Future Of The Real Estate Closing Industry

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. September 25, 2009 Closings

An excited young couple about to close on their first home walk into into the closing attorney’s office. The day before they received via secure email all of the loan documents to review and approve with their personal attorney. The closing attorney arrives without any paper, armed only with a laptop attached to a digital [...]

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Community Associations Institute Weighs In Against New FHA and Fannie Mae Condominium Regulations

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. October 5, 2009 Condominium Law

IMPORTANT UPDATE: 11/16/09: FHA Issues Final Revised Condominium Lending Guidelines
As a follow up to my post on the new FHA condominium regulations, I received word from my friend Seth Wills at XLT Property Management, that the Community Associations Institute — the leading condominium and homeowner’s association trade group — recently sent a bulletin to its [...]

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Title Insurance Demystified: Do Homeowners Really Need It?

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. August 11, 2009 Massachusetts Real Estate Law

Title insurance is an absolute necessity in every real estate conveyance transaction. The problem is that most home buyers don’t know what title insurance is or what it covers, and only see it for the first time on the closing settlement statement. Closing attorneys and title insurance companies need to do a better job [...]

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Ibanez Update: Massachusetts Land Court Decision Invalidates Foreclosures Based On Post-Sale Assignments

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. August 27, 2009 Foreclosure

Update (2/25/10)–Mass. High Court May Take Ibanez Case
Breaking News (10/14/09)–Land Court Reaffirms Ruling Invalidating Thousands of Foreclosures. Click here for the updated post.

In late March of this year in the case of U.S. Bank v. Ibanez, Massachusetts Land Court Judge Keith C. Long issued one of the most controversial rulings in recent years which has [...]

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Massachusetts Foreclosures Down Almost 60%, A Good Sign or Statistical Aberration?

by Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. June 30, 2009 Foreclosure

Thumbnail image for Massachusetts Foreclosures Down Almost 60%, A Good Sign or Statistical Aberration?

The Boston Globe is reporting that foreclosures in Massachusetts took a steep dive in May, the second consecutive month they have fallen, according to data released yesterday by Boston real estate tracking firm Warren Group.

According to the Globe, there were 582 foreclosure deeds recorded in May, a 58.6 percent decrease from 1,405 during the same [...]

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- Just posted on ActiveRain: What Does The Closing Attorney Do Exactly? http://activerain.com/t/1537752 13 hours ago
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- More: Short Sales and 2nd liens March 10, 2010
  This is a follow up on the previous post on short sales and 2nd liens . (the previous post had excerpts from the NY Times, Short-Sale Program to Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss and WSJ Home-Saving Loans Afoot ) Just to be clear on what subordinate lien holders will receive under a HAFA short sales - from Treasury's HAFA program Short Sale Agreement: Su […]
- Report: HAMP Modification Conversion Rate at about 33% March 10, 2010
  From Shahien Nasiripour at the Huffington Post: Obama Foreclosure-Prevention Plan Lagging, New Data Shows Only about a third of the homeowners who have successfully completed the trial period of the Obama administration's mortgage modification program have been offered permanent relief, according to new federal data obtained by the Huffington Post. The […]
- Unemployment Rates, by State: Most Regions Added Jobs in January March 10, 2010
  See the full interactive graphic. Thirty states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate increases in January from a month earlier, while states registered rate decreases, the Labor Department said. But in a sign the job market is inching toward recovery 31 states added jobs in the first month of the year. In January, the overall U.S. unemploy […]
- Can Your iPhone Tell You Which House to Buy? March 10, 2010
  For those seeking bargains in today’s bombed-out housing market, it helps to have strong nerves and a big wad of cash. Getty Images But do you also need a fancy cellphone? As I write in today’s Journal , real estate brokers and software firms are rushing out all kinds of applications, or “apps,” designed to turn the Apple Inc. iPhone and other smart phones i […]
- California Homeownership Without Mortgage Payments: Homeowner Associations Pay For California Mortgage Moratoriums March 10, 2010
  While some people struggle to keep their mortgage payments current, others are living in their houses for free. Not only are they not making mortgage payments but they are being offered incentives when they don't....(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it. […]