Page 35 - February 2018 Disruption Report Flip Book

EQUIFAX’S “WATERSHED MOMENT” JANUARY 2018
The Department of Justice is investigating the FHA lending practices of Lennar’s Eagle Home Mortgage
The Department of Justice is investigating the FHA lending practices of Eagle Home Mortgage (EHM), the mortgage lending subsidiary of the home builder Lennar, according to disclosure in recent filing with the SEC filing.
“Our mortgage subsidiary has been subpoenaed by the United States Department of Justice regarding the adequacy of certain underwriting and quality control processes related to Federal Housing Administration loans originated and sold in prior years,” wrote Lennar in the SEC filing. EHM has provided the DoJ information about the loans in question and its process for originating FHA loans and said that communications with the agency are “ongoing.”
According to the SEC filing, Lennar originated approximately 31,600 residential mortgages totaling $9 billion in 2017, and 33,500 residential mortgages totaling $9.3 billion during 2016. The company does not provide a breakdown of its FHA-loan originations in the filing.
In recent months, EHM has made moves to expand its lending business by rolling out a new mortgage program to help homeowners pay off their student loan debt. EHM’s program provides borrowers up to $13,000 that can be used to pay off student loan debt, if they buy a new home from Lennar. (HousingWire, Ben Lane, 01/25/18)
Housing industry calls on Senate to confirm Brian Montgomery as FHA commissioner
A consortium of 44 housing industry representatives—including trade groups, law firms and fair housing advocates—called on the U.S. Senate to finally vote on Brian Montgomery’s nomination to head the FHA. Montgomery’s nomination has been languishing in the Senate chamber for three months.
The signees wrote:
The undersigned organizations represent a broad spectrum of the housing and community development industry and advocacy groups. We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for the nomination of Brian D. Montgomery as the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s assistant
secretary for housing and Federal Housing Administration commissioner.
We respectfully urge you to move his confirmation forward at the soonest opportunity.
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