Originally published on April 5, 2021, by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today proposed a set of rule changes intended to help prevent avoidable foreclosures as the emergency federal foreclosure protections expire. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis, millions of families nationwide have suffered the loss of income and nearly 3 million homeowners are behind on their mortgages. The CFPB’s proposal seeks to ensure that both services and borrowers have the tools and time they need to work together to prevent avoidable foreclosures, recognizing that the expected surge of borrowers exiting forbearance in the fall will put mortgage servicers under strain.

Originally published on April 2, 2021 for The Real Estate Roundtable.

President Joe Biden on March 31 announced the first part of his sweeping economic growth proposal focused on infrastructure and clean energy – a $2.3 trillion, eight-year plan that White House officials said would be funded, over 15 years, by corporate and international tax increases. (Wall Street Journal and White House Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Plan, March 31)

Originally published on March 31, 2021, by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced it is rescinding seven policy statements issued last year that provided temporary flexibilities to financial institutions in consumer financial markets including mortgages, credit reporting, credit cards, and prepaid cards. The seven rescissions, effective April 1, provide guidance to financial institutions on complying with their legal and regulatory obligations. With the rescissions, the CFPB is providing notice that it intends to exercise the full scope of the supervisory and enforcement authority provided under the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is also rescinding its 2018 bulletin on supervisory communications and replacing it with a revised bulletin describing its use of matters requiring attention (MRAs) to effectively convey supervisory expectations.

Originally published on March 17, 2021, by Mike Sorohan for MBA Newslink. 

Originally published on March 9, 2021 by Chairwoman Waters and Ranking Member McHenry.

The Appraisal Institute on March 9 sent a letter to the House Committee on Financial Services expressing its support for the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act of 2021. The legislation would establish an interagency task force to analyze federal collateral underwriting standards and guidance and provide resources for promoting diversity in the valuation profession.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will extend the moratoriums on single-family foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) evictions until February 28, 2021.  The foreclosure moratorium applies to Enterprise-backed, single-family mortgages only. The REO eviction moratorium applies to properties that have been acquired by an Enterprise through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions. The current moratoriums were set to expire on January 31, 2021.

“To keep our communities safe, and families in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, FHFA is extending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's foreclosure and eviction moratorium," said Director Mark Calabria. 

The Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Department of the Treasury, on Jan. 11 re-opened the Paycheck Protection Program for new borrowers and select current ones. The latest round of funding authorizes up to $284 billion for small business owners to aid in job retention for their employees and to assist with other expenses.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 18 declined to intervene or issue a further stay of the administrative proceedings brought by the Federal Trade Commission against the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board, making it the first case concerning real estate appraisers to reach the Supreme Court in almost 60 years.

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that certain LREAB regulatory actions regarding appraisal management company payments of reasonable and customary fees to appraisers are anti-competitive and in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Request for Input (RFI) on appraisal-related policies, practices, and processes. The input received in response to the RFI will be used by FHFA to determine the necessary modifications needed to ensure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) operate in a safe and sound manner.

“Modernizing the appraisal process has the potential to create a more streamlined and accurate collateral valuation process. But if modernization is not properly adopted, it could have negative unintended consequences," said Director Mark Calabria. “Today's RFI will improve FHFA's understanding of how the Enterprises can improve the appraisal process while at the same time ensuring they don't take on unintended or inappropriate levels of risk. The comments we receive will inform how we will modernize appraisals to improve both loan quality and the origination process."

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Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the House Financial Services Committee Dec. 2 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need “significant capital” to get out of conservatorship, but noted that no definitive plans have been made for the government-sponsored enterprises, HousingWire reported. The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to stay its course even with the incoming Biden presidency.

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The Appraisal Institute sent a letter urging swift passage of the Portal for Appraisal Licensing Act of 2020 in the 116th Congress, which would amend the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to establish a portal for appraisal credentialing and AMC registration information, and for other purposes.

“Appraisers need help reducing their administrative burdens and servicing clients, particularly in a socially distant workplace where clients may be located in other states,” said Appraisal Institute President Jefferson L. Sherman, MAI, AI-GRS.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it is seeking comments on a notice of proposed rulemaking that establishes a new regulatory capital framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises). The proposed rule is a re-proposal of the notice of proposed rulemaking published in July 2018. Comments will be due 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register. 

The 2018 proposal remains the foundation of the re-proposal. The enhancements in the new proposal preserve the mortgage risk-sensitive framework of the 2018 proposal, while increasing the quantity and quality of the Enterprises' regulatory capital and reducing the pro-cyclicality of the aggregate capital requirements. Together, the enhancements in the re-proposal ensure each Enterprise's safety and soundness and its ability to fulfill its statutory mission across the economic cycle, in particular during periods of financial stress. The re-proposal is also a critical step toward responsibly ending the conservatorships.

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Creditors have flexibility regarding when they must provide appraisals to mortgage applicants, according to an updated Q&A on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act Valuations Rule released April 29 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Under ordinary circumstance, creditors are required to provide appraisals promptly upon completion or three business days prior to consummation of a transaction.

Read the Rule Here

Click here to view the audit report prepared by the NC State Auditor of NCDOT.

By Ben Lane

Over the last several months, a number of the nation’s largest lenders and housing trade groups have called on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to make changes to the Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgage rule.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today issued a Request for Input (RFI) about Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises’) pooling practices for the formation of “To-Be-Announced” (TBA)-eligible Uniform Mortgage-Backed Securities (UMBS).  FHFA is also seeking public input about other policies and practices that might affect UMBS fungibility, including the Enterprises’ oversight of UMBS prepayment speeds and alignment.

This RFI follows on the successful launch of UMBS and seeks to ensure that UMBS remain a source of stable, affordable liquidity for the U.S. housing finance system.  The requested input will help FHFA determine whether further action or alignment is necessary to ensure reasonably consistent security cash flows and continued fungibility of the Enterprises’ UMBS.

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Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on Sept. 24 submitted a letter to the Appraisal Subcommittee seeking answers about its July decision to grant a waiver of appraiser certification and licensing to the state of North Dakota. The letter expressed “surprise and concern” about the “unprecedented” waiver.

Waters chairs the House Financial Services Committee and Brown is ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

“It is so concerning that the ASC, the primary federal organization with oversight over appraisal and appraiser standards, has acted to waive appraiser certification requirements with minimal justification,” the letter stated, noting that appraisals are essential to safety and soundness and consumer protection. The letter explains that the move is unprecedented because the ASC has not granted any waivers since the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council first fully implemented appraisal rules. In granting this one, the ASC ignored the objections of the North Dakota Real Estate Commission.

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By Jessica Guerin

The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a notice to lenders announcing the formal suspension of its rule change to down payment assistance guidelines.

The Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation on Aug. 1 announced its intention to explore the creation of uniform standards for evaluations. The ASB said that since no standards exist for conducting evaluations, there is greater risk to the safety and soundness of real estate transactions and diminished protections for consumers. A concept paper is expected near Labor Day. 

Read more here.

A Louisiana court on July 29 granted a motion to stay in the Federal Trade Commission's case against the Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers Board in which it alleged the LREAB illegally determined a floor for appraiser prices. The court ruled that, among other things, continuing the case would hamper the state's ability to make and enforce policies.

Read more here.