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For the first time in more than 50 years, someone other than Dale Dykema is about to lead TD Service Financial Corporation, as First American Financial Corporation announced plans to acquire California-based TD Service and several of its subsidiaries. As part of the deal, Dykema will retire from TD Service, ending his tenure at the company he founded in 1964. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

To one company using the programs, PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs are safe, but to critics in the industry, there are too many negatives about the loans. This account of the program from one borrower gives at least one example of where the clean energy program is causing trouble. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

By Susanne Dwyer

The National Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC) recently convened leaders from the rural housing community to evaluate and prepare recommendations that will ensure affordable rental housing options remain available to low- and very low-income residents. The purpose of the October 4-5 conference, which was sponsored by PNC Bank, was to gather feedback from the community and confer on data shared by staff from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing programs. Using this information, NRHC will release a detailed paper on the state of affordable rental housing in rural communities.

“While there were notable investments made several decades ago for the production and maintenance of affordable, rural rental housing, that federal commitment has not kept pace with the need in recent years,” says Bob Rapoza, executive secretary of NRHC. “This is significant because USDA’s current preservation efforts do not appear to be enough to sustain its rental housing portfolio, which is essential to providing clean, decent, and affordable housing for low-income residents in Rural America.”

USDA rental housing is frequently the only affordable rental housing available in rural communities. The average income for tenants is $12,729 annually, many (around 44 percent) are elderly or persons with disabilities and 70.9 percent are female-headed households. USDA estimates that $5.596 billion in additional funding is needed over the next 20 years to preserve USDA’s rental housing portfolio. Renovation of these developments is particularly important because USDA no longer provides loans for the financing of new rental housing developments in rural America.

In addition, there is a rising tide of USDA mortgages coming to the end of their terms. When a USDA mortgage ends—whether it is due to prepayment or mortgage maturity—the property loses rental assistance eligibility, which provides a deep subsidy to very low income households. As a result, an increasing number of very low-income households are left with few or no alternatives for affordable, decent housing options.

While the need for renovation and refinancing of the USDA multifamily housing portfolio is great, several organizations have taken advantage of opportunities to acquire, improve the quality of and maintain the affordability of these properties. By working with USDA and state housing finance agencies, as well as combining multiple sources of public and private funds, housing advocates like Greystone Affordable Housing Initiatives and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership have succeeded in preserving USDA’s rural rental homes. NRHC will work with USDA and members of Congress to promote these successful preservation strategies and identify obstacles to success to ensure that affordable rental housing in rural communities is preserved.

“Congress and various Administrations have underfunded efforts to preserve the physical and financial condition of USDA’s investment. As a result, none of the properties in USDA’s portfolio have the capital needed to meet long-term operational costs,” says Rapoza. “NRHC will continue to advocate for the funding and policies necessary to meet the affordable housing needs or rural people and families.”

About Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Loans

For over 50 years, Section 515 loans have been used to improve the quality …read more

From:: Finance and Economy

By Susanne Dwyer

Freddie Mac’s full menu of disaster relief policies will be available to homeowners whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. Freddie Mac’s disaster relief policies will be available to borrowers with homes in presidentially declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs are made available to affected individuals and households. Until then, servicers may leverage Freddie Mac’s forbearance programs to provide immediate mortgage relief to borrowers affected by this devastating storm.

Freddie Mac is one of the nation’s largest investors in residential mortgages.

“We strongly encourage the many American families whose homes or businesses are being impacted by Hurricane Matthew to call their mortgage servicer once the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s declaration is announced,” says Yvette Gilmore, Freddie Mac’s Vice President of Single-Family Servicer Performance Management. “Relief — including forbearance on mortgage payments for up to one year — may be available if their mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac.”

Freddie Mac disaster relief policies authorize mortgage servicers to help affected borrowers in presidentially declared Major Disaster Areas where federal Individual Assistance programs have been extended. A list of these areas can be found at http://www.fema.gov/disasters.

Freddie Mac mortgage relief options for affected borrowers in these areas include: Suspending foreclosures by providing forbearance for up to 12 months; Waiving assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes; and

Not reporting forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation’s credit bureaus.

Freddie Mac is also reminding servicers to consider borrowers who work in eligible disaster areas, but have homes in unaffected areas, for Freddie Mac’s standard relief policies, which include forbearance or mortgage modifications.

Affected borrowers should immediately contact their mortgage servicer — the company to which they send their monthly mortgage payment.

For more information, visit http://www.freddiemac.com/singlefamily/service.

…read more

From:: Finance and Economy

Earlier this year, Nationstar Mortgage announced plans to completely rebrand itself, combining its originations and servicing business under the name Mr. Cooper. At the heart of the company’s rebranding plans was the company’s effort to “change the home loan experience.” Reviews are now beginning to come in on Nationstar’s new customer focus, and the early reviews are positive. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire