Giving Thanks for 7 Things that Surprised Me in Housing and Mortgages in 2014

Has it really been nearly a month since Halloween?  Apparently so since traffic on the highways, near the mall mecca of Paramus, is reminding me that holiday shopping mode is in full swing!  However, before we get there, we need to fulfill the American rite of giving “Thanks” for the overabundance of food in our country by gorging ourselves on turkey, stuffing and sides. We then leave room for dessert pies, including the season bellwether, pumpkin pie on which with we will “gourd” ourselves! Like the variety of side dishes on Thanksgiving, some of which are ...

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New Regulations Make Life More Difficult and Expensive But Mortgage Lending Goes On

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “(CFPB”) is a new federal agency which is in charge of protecting consumers in financial transaction. Since it was formed in 2011, they have spent a great deal of time investigating and then fining mortgage banks for violations of various lending laws. Unfortunately, the CFPB has spent a lot of time fining banks and mortgage loan originators; this has not really ended up helping consumers.  It also has not hurt the lending business as much as people thought it would. Though, it did result in driving many small ...

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