Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Zillow is making it easier for home shoppers to gain information about the homes they are interested in purchasing with the launch of its Neighborhood Advice tool. The popular website will allow potential home buyers to learn more about the neighborhood they are targeting via social media outlet, Facebook.

Illinois received an unexpected gift during December - rising home sales. Crediting the unseasonably mild weather, low mortgage interest rates, and attractive market pricing, the state recorded its sixth consecutive month of increasing numbers of homes sold. According to the recent report released by the Illinois Association of Realtors, the total number of homes sales during December was up 14 percent year-over-year. Overall, data from Illinois showed 8,828 homes sold for the month, off of 7,746 sold during December 2010.

A former company executive previously convicted of $100 million in mortgage fraud saw his name on our mortgage fraud blotter for his role in orchestrating an attempted hit from prison, right next to a loan officer sentenced to jail time for taking in $2.5 million in a reverse mortgage plot. First up, the Justice Department offered the account of a Florida loan officer, Louis Gendason, sentenced by a federal judge to 70 months in the slammer for coordinating a reverse mortgage fraud scheme that targeted elderly borrowers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission signed an agreement Monday to eliminate regulatory overlap by frequently sharing information about investigations and rulemaking proposals. A Memorandum of Understanding obliges the agencies to meet no less than once quarterly to share information, notify each other of action pending against entities, and coordinate training exercises for examiners and personnel. The agreement fulfills provisions under the Dodd-Frank Act that charge the agencies with signing a memorandum.

Continuing its sell off, First Niagara Bank has announced its intention to liquidate another 27 branches. The move is part of the company's transition following its acquisition of HSBC Bank's regional retail business in New York and Connecticut.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation has appointed a new assistant vice president, with the announcement that Lyle Lasky will join the company at its national underwriting and credit compliance manager. FGMC will capitalize on Lasky's 17 years of experience in the industry to enhance its quality and compliance initiatives.

Adding to its management lineup, Veros Real Estate Solutions has announced the appointment of Charles Rumfola as the company's senior vice president of strategic initiatives. Veros will capitalize on Rumfola's extensive industry experience to enhance its activities in the secondary market.

Earlier Tuesday the FDIC went forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register that calls for annual stress tests to determine capital adequacy for banks. The notice built on the Basel Accords, which the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision revisited with help from a consortium of central bankers over 2010 and 2011. Basel III is the latest by BCBS to require stress tests for systemically important financial institutions, which include Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and several other U.S. lenders.

Enough is enough, the Appraisal Institute said Tuesday, defending the role of appraisers in a statement and two separate guidelines. The trade group came out swinging on behalf of appraisers and appraisal management companies, arguing their independence and professionalism in a down market that consistently sees analysts, Realtors, and bankers on the offensive. The statements and guidelines pointed to appraisers as independent observers hard at work for lenders, not buyers or sellers, reaffirming their sense of judgment, market analysis, and roles in the housing industry.

The FDIC finalized one rule and proposed another Tuesday that requires systemically large financial institutions to submit resolution plans and undergo annual stress tests, respectively. Under the finalized rule, financial institutions with more than $50 billion in assets will need to craft so-called living wills, or resolution plans, for the FDIC and regulators to follow in the event of collapse. The agency also proposed another rule Tuesday for public commentary on capital adequacy tests, or stress tests, for financial institutions with $10 billion or more in assets, including 23 state non-member banks.