Guess who’s back, back again… Teti’s back, tell a friend! Oh it feels good to be back in the blog scene. We’ve been doing some very exciting things here at Princeton, so I am sorry about the short hiatus. It’s kind of like when those authors go off the grid and then show back up with a full series of Harry Potter novels. Well… maybe not to that scale but you get the idea. Yesterday marked my 1-year anniversary here at Princeton Mortgage. Now you may think that the title of th

We all are obviously aware that the world record for most simultaneous snow angels is held by North Dakota, but we don’t generally think of them when it comes to changes in our industry. A new request from the governor’s office could see North Dakota leading a change in our industry, just as they lead the nation in honey production. I’ll spare you more North Dakota trivia (enjoy more facts here), but Governor Doug Burgum has requested that limits on appraisal requirements be

When the CFPB director stepped down, it caused a mess that resulted in lawsuits and two directors showing up to work on the same day. Needless to say, there was a bit of chaos. Who would have thought that the turmoil caused from the changing of the guard would create bipartisan support in both the House and Senate? Congress had trouble agreeing on a solution to keep the lights on, but two different pieces of legislation yesterday saw signs of movement that could be a sign

Have you been following the PHH v. CFPB case? No? Me either, but I did find the most recent ruling in the case very interesting… so we’re going to talk about it today. To give you some background PHH (a big player in the non-bank mortgage lender/loan servicing space) filed an appeal against the CFPB in 2014 after the agency slapped a $109 million fine against them for taking kickbacks for mortgage referrals. The case called into question the constitutionality of the governmen

During everyone’s favorite week of the year (when Christmas ends and we’re waiting on the New Year) a report came out stating that the Trump Adminstration is considering, J. Mark McWatters to take over as the head of the CFPB. As I’m sure you can imagine, some banking institutions are a bit skittish about hearing McWatters name thrown around at the CFPB. As the chair of the NCUA, McWatters has been vocal about cutting back the amount of oversight the CFPB has on credit unions

We’re only a few days away from 2018, which according to a bunch of 80’s movies we should have already seen Dr. David Bowman disconnect the HAL 9000 computer and discover the true secrets of the monolith (2001: A Space Odyssey), Marty McFly and Doc Brown flying around in a DeLorean (Back to the Future Part II) and who could forget Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in Escape from L.A.? He saved the President’s daughter and in the process stopped all technological activity on the

Photo by Mike Tinnion on Unsplash Here’s a change-up for everyone… people are standing in lines to pay their taxes! Wait, what? The Wall Street Journal reported that taxpayers who live in counties where property values have risen (Fairfax County, VA; Montgomery County, MD; Norfolk County, MA to name a few) are lining up to prepay their property taxes and stay ahead of the new tax law that is set to kick in at the start of the new year. Before the Christmas Holiday, President

Photo by Caley Dimmock on Unsplash As you know by now, the HMDA data collection update has been a major talking point throughout the industry. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, HousingWire put out a nice mini-series of articles explaining what’s changing and answering all your questions. Lenders and loan originators have been gearing up to meet the new reporting requirements that are set to go into effect starting next month to avoid the expected heavy fines that wou

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash According to the National Association of Realtors there were 614,000 condo sales completed in 2016… FHA provided financing for about 4%. It’s no secret that the Obama administration made the lending requirements for condos strict, some would even say… impossible? Late last year, FHA adjusted their owner occupancy requirements for condo developments from 50% to 35%. Unfortunately, that was not enough to stimulate an appetite for the FHA condo p

Photo by Olga DeLawrence on Unsplash The interim head of the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney, was reviewing the settlement that called for Wells Fargo to pay out millions in fines for the issues surrounding the fake accounts that were created, as well as refund borrowers approx. $98 million in erroneous rate lock extension fees. It appeared that Mulvaney was going to wipe the slate clean and then Trump did what Trump tends to do… and tweeted about his stance on the matter: “Fines and pen

Yesterday’s post talked about how lenders are using specific demographic data to create new business strategies. But let’s be honest, data only tells part of the story (and can be boring) and usually you learn the most when you look at what’s actually happening in the world around you. This article from National Mortgage News tells a story of how one mortgage executive used an experience in his own life to identify a need in a surrounding community. That translated into build

Something new to report… nobody knows what’s going in Washington D.C., particularly regarding the appointment of the new acting director of the CFPB. In an effort to block Mick Mulvaney ever stepping foot into the CFPB offices… the deputy director of the CFPB, Leandra English, sued the Trump administration late Sunday evening (that’s typically when I like to file my lawsuits as well). You can check out the paperwork here. What does this mean for the Mulvaney and the CFPB? Not

I read this article earlier today and it really got me thinking. Technically, for a loan to be categorized as a “Qualified Mortgage” the DTI ratio must be 43%... or (and that’s a big OR) the loan fits into the GSE’s eligibility requirements, which for FNMA & FHLMC could mean a DTI of 50% (this is the QM Patch). This is a curious topic and it sparks debate, so much so that the Trump Administration has gone as far as saying it gives the GSE’s an unfair advantage in the market.