National Mortgage News - January/February 2024

HOUSE HACKING

Those who establish a history of paying for housing may be able to buy and live in property with rental income, but there are risks to the emerging strategy.

Relying on hope, as implied in the "survive until '25" slogan, is not a business strategy that will get a company through the year.

The Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are suing a real estate developer over an alleged bait-and-switch land-sale scheme near Houston. The developer used TikTok and other social media sites to lure Hispanic immigrants into predatory loans, the government alleges.

New and proposed capital rules for some depositories and nonbanks could change the roles the various institutions play.

With a tough winter predicted for lenders, servicers may struggle making timely principal and interest payments to investors, industry stakeholders warn.

However, nearly a third of industry employees told National Mortgage News in a survey they're worried they'll lose their job because of the technology next year.

Lawyers for the plaintiff maintain the companies should have been on notice of inadequate security measures after a reported data breach in 2022.

From federal agencies to the states, here's what some of the top housing policy themes could be in the coming election year, according to experts.

Also, lenders Click n' Close, Lower add c-level executives, Southern Bancorp embarks on expansion of mortgage division and Formfree finds new director of marketing.

The chairman of Whalen Global Advisors outlines the policy agenda of home lenders' dreams for the year ahead.