Posts with tag consumer protection

Using New Consumer Protection Rules to Keep Your Lender Honest

By Dona DeZube Tired of getting the runaround from your mortgage lender or servicer? Starting Jan. 10, 2014, you'll get consumer protections aimed at taming the worst habits mortgage lenders picked up during the mortgage foreclosure crisis. But realize that you need to follow specific procedures to make the protections... Continue Reading »

States Tighten Foreclosure Regulations

The Hawaii Legislature and Massachusetts House of Representatives passed bills that put tougher restrictions on foreclosures. In Hawaii, the new bill updates the state's foreclosure law, which was called the strongest in the country when it passed last year. The update makes the regulations even stricter, and provides... Continue Reading »

Mortgage Broker Reform Could Limit Consumer Options

Starting April 1, a federal law will change the way mortgage brokers earn their pay. Advocates say the rule prevents needless mark-ups on loans that pad brokers' incomes. However, critics argue the law hurts consumers by narrowing the marketplace and funnels more customers to fewer lenders. Don Hagan, vice president of... Continue Reading »

Sheila Bair Wants to Protect Foreclosure Victims

Sheila Bair wants to help rescue the nation's homeowners from the foreclosure disaster. On Wednesday, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) recommended the formation of a foreclosure claims commission not unlike the one created to aid victims of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Bair was... Continue Reading »

Appraisals: New Rules to an Old Real Estate Game

When President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act in late July, he ended the controversial Home Valuation Code of Conduct or HVCC, now set to expire in 90 days. HVCC was implemented in May 2009 by the Federal Housing Financing Agency "as an attempt to improve the independence of appraisers by prohibiting lenders and third... Continue Reading »

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