Archives

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago has charged two suburban mortgage brokers with fraudulently operating a purportedly independent appraisal management company to control property valuations, and brokering fraudulent loans to finance real estate transactions between themselves and nominees.

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) to announce the re-opening of the Illinois Hardest Hit Fund program (HHF). Starting August 1, the program will provide mortgage assistance to families struggling to make mortgage payments due to loss of income

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced today that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDPFR or the Department) began using the National SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) Test with Uniform State Content starting today, bringing the total number of state agencies that use the test to 52.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) Division of Banking today announced that it will adopt the new SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) National Test Component with Uniform State Content on June 1, 2016. IDFPR is one of 52 state agencies that have adopted the test. Additional states are eventually expected to adopt the new SAFE MLO National Test Component with Uniform State Content

In an effort to save mortgage licensees valuable time and resources, the Division of Banking at the Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation (DFPR) has created a new Anti-Predatory Loan Database (APLD) Interface. Launched on October 3rd, the interface facilitates the automatic transfer of loan data, saving mortgage licensees from manually re-entering the information. The interface is part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to increase efficiency and regulatory responsiveness

In an effort to save mortgage licensees valuable time and resources, the Division of Banking at the Illinois Department of Financial Professional Regulation (DFPR) has created a new Anti-Predatory Loan Database (APLD) Interface. Launched on October 3rd, the interface facilitates the automatic transfer of loan data, saving mortgage licensees from manually re-entering the information. The interface is part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to increase efficiency and regulatory responsiveness

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) today launched its new 1stHomeIllinois loan program to help make homeownership a reality for up to 4,000 first-time homebuyers in 10 Illinois counties hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. The program provides $7,500 in down payment assistance with an interest rate as low as 4.125 percent for a secure, 30-year fixed rate mortgage.

U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14) has cosponsored H.R. 1210, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, which relieves mortgage lenders like community banks and credit unions from senseless regulations which increase costs and reduce the availability of home mortgages for consumers

U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14) this week voted to support two bills which will relieve community banks from excessive regulations and protect their ability to lend to Illinois homeowners. H.R. 4042, the Community Bank Mortgage Service Asset Capital Requirements Study Act of 2014, and H.R. 5148, the Access to Affordable Mortgages Act of 2014, both passed the House Financial Services Committee (FSC), of which Rep. Hultgren is a member.

Reston, Virginia, - September 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced that the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois this week accepted the report and recommendation of Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal and dismissed a lawsuit filed by Macon County, Illinois and Mary Eaton, Macon County Recorder of Deeds, on behalf of Macon County and other similarly situated counties in the state of Illinois, ruling in favor of MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and numerous other defendants.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 31, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today applauded the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee’s approval of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) solvency legislation that includes his amendment to protect seniors who take out reverse mortgage loans. The amendment, which Senator Kirk offered with Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and David Vitter (R-La.), strengthens the FHA Solvency Act, a bill that reforms the FHA to put the agency on more stable financial ground.

Washington, D.C. - July 24, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Bill Foster introduced an amendment to the PATH Act, Republican legislation which would radically remake housing finance policy leading to fewer opportunities for home ownership for middle class families.

CHICAGO, IL - July 22, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Governor Pat Quinn today was joined by U.S. Department of the Treasury officials to announce the success of his Illinois Hardest Hit Program and urge homeowners to apply for up to $35,000 in mortgage payment assistance by Sept. 30 when the program ends. Since taking office in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, Governor Quinn has worked hard to keep Illinois families in their homes. In the last year, properties in foreclosure have dropped to 73,688, a nearly 29 percent decrease from last year, and the downward trend continues in Illinois

CHICAGO, IL - June 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two attorneys are among four defendants who have been indicted in two separate mortgage fraud cases, federal law enforcement officials announced today. In one case, an attorney, a real estate investor, and a loan originator were charged with allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least five residential mortgage loans totaling approximately $1.5 million from various lenders. In the second case, an attorney was charged with allegedly participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain at least 12 residential mortgage loans totaling nearly $3.75 million from various lenders.