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Exclusive: New Bill Brings Better Housing Benefits for Veterans

Earlier this month, President Obama signed a new bill into law with the intent of making much-needed changes to the VA Home Guaranty Program, as well as providing healthcare to the hundreds of thousands of Marines and Marine families that drank contaminated water at Camp Lejeune North Carolina the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act. The bill also makes breakthrough changes that provide much needed reform to the VA Loan program, a program that has been in service since 1944.

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Officials Charge Fugitive Who Operated Illegal Foreclosure Scam

Federal officials announced Monday that a federal fugitive of 12 years was charged with identity theft and fraud after operating an illegal foreclosure-rescue scheme. Glen Alan Ward of Canada was indicted Friday on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

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Arizona Attorney General Files Loan Mod Scam Suits

Arizona attorney general Tom Horne announced the filing of two lawsuits against Arizona companies offering allegedly fraudulent mortgage modification services to distressed homeowners. Horne brought suits against Phoenix-based Making All Homes Affordable, LLC (MAHA) and Tucson-based La Paz Source, LLC, alleging fraudulent practices by the two companies.

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CFPB Proposes No Points, Fees Loan Option

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on a roll lately. On Friday, the agency offered up rules to reduce interest rates, do away with points and fees, and screen mortgage loan officers. In the first of a slew of new rulemaking proposals, In the first of a slew of new rulemaking proposals, the CFPB would require lenders to make available loans that are stripped of their origination points and discount fees for certain consumers. The proposals would also require background checks for loan officers and bar arbitration clauses for credit insurance practices.

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Fitch Foresees Troubles for FHA as Delinquencies Rise

Times haven't been too swell for the Federal Housing Administration. That was apparent, by some accounts, when the agency raised insurance premiums for lenders of single-family mortgages in February, a choice it made to shore up its crisis-weary Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Now, according to Fitch Ratings, a new tide of mortgage delinquencies and price declines may tip the fund back toward troubled waters - and possibly insolvency.

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Washington Supreme Court Rules No Foreclosures Without Note

The Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) can't foreclose on a property through the state's non-judicial process unless it holds the promissory note. In the court opinion, Justice Tom Chambers wrote, ""Simply put, if MERS does not hold the note, it is not a lawful beneficiary.""

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Study: Delinquency Affects Neighboring Prices More than Foreclosure

A working paper released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta suggests that foreclosures may not negatively impact nearby property prices as much as originally thought. The paper examines and refutes the argument long used by experts that mortgage foreclosures greatly reduce the sale prices of properties in the area. The study actually found while neighboring home prices do tend to sink when a property becomes distressed, the effect is only minor.

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Small to Mid-Size Servicers to Hurt Most from New Rules: Moody’s

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) strikes once more - against the little guy, reports suggest. One of those came from Moody's Investors Service on Thursday. The ratings agency released a report that linked a tide of new rules from the credit bureau to ""costly"" and ""challenging"" new costs for small to midsize servicers. According to Moody's, these servicers will likely encounter ""significant hurdles"" in moves to adopt the single point of contact strategy.

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Treasury Announces Plans to Wind Down Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Treasury announced Friday a set of modifications to agreements between itself and FHFA designed to help speed up the wind down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In addition to reducing the GSEs' mortgage portfolios in a more timely manner, these modifications are designed to ensure that each firm's earnings benefit taxpayers and help reform the housing finance market.

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SIFMA Expresses Opposition Toward Eminent Domain at Meeting

Oh behalf of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), managing director Tim Cameron prepared remarks for a meeting in San Bernardino County to once again, express opposition towards the area's proposed use of eminent domain. In his remarks, Cameron stated, ""we believe that the use of eminent domain would significantly harm mortgage finance markets, reduce access to credit for borrowers, and negatively impact average investors' portfolios."" San Bernardino County and the cities of Fontana and Ontario created a Joint Powers Authority to explore the use of eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages at fair market value.

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