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[ad_1] A collection of federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), took the Appraisal Foundation to task for its weak anti-bias guidance. The Feb. 3 letter, which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, National Credit Union Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Reserve Board also signed on to, lambasted the Appraisal Foundation’s guidance for appraisers to avoid bias. The Appraisal Foundation — a private group that is the de facto appraisal regulator — tells appraisers in its Advisory Opinion 16 not to rely on “unsupported conclusions relating to characteristics such as race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, familial status, age, receipt of public assistance income, disability, or an unsupported conclusion that homogeneity of such characteristics is necessary to maximize value.” But that guidance leaves room for “supported” conclusions that take those protected class characteristics into account, which the regulatory agencies said will not fly. The regulatory agencies wrote that the “federal ban on discrimination under the [Fair Housing Act] and [Equal Credit Opportunity Act] is not limited only to “unsupported” conclusions. “Any discussion of prohibited appraisal bias should call attention to, and maintain consistency with, all applicable nondiscrimination standards provided in federal law,” including the FHAct and ECOA. The CFPB, along with signing the letter to the Appraisal Foundation, had even stronger words for the private group on its blog. The CFPB wrote that they have seen the Appraisal Foundation “fail to include clear warnings about the requirements of federal law in the standards it sets, and in the training it provides for appraisers.” The Appraisal Foundation’s actions, the CFPB continued, “undermine a fair and competitive market free of bias and discrimination.” In response, Dave Bunton, president of the Appraisal Foundation, said his group is committed to “fostering public trust” in the appraisal profession. “There is no room for discrimination in the appraisal profession, and we appreciate these government regulators bringing their concerns about our standards to our standards board,” Bunton said in a statement. “We hope they will continue to work with us to ensure our standards make it crystal clear that discrimination in violation of federal law is strictly prohibited.” The Appraisal Foundation also shared its email response to the interagency letter from regulators. In that response, Michelle Czekalski Bradley, the chair of the foundation’s appraisal standards board, wrote that the body she leads is “deeply concerned about the issues [regulators] have raised.” “Your assistance in these matters is of the utmost importance,” Bradley wrote. “We can make ourselves immediately available to discuss the issues you have raised and explore changes to the Ethics Rule to make clear the illegality of discrimination against protected classes. “The ASB is committed to addressing your concerns and working with you to strengthen USPAP for all who rely on the appraisal profession.” For Meg Burns, now executive vice president at the Housing Policy Council, the interagency letter from regulators is the latest sign that regulatory agencies are thinking about the potential root causes — in this case, an ineffective regulatory regime — that could lead to bias in appraisals. Burns said the letter is part of a “steady drumbeat” from regulators, signaling that there is a “fundamental systemic flaw” in the appraisal industry’s regulatory framework. In January, the Appraisal Subcommittee published a report it commissioned from the National Fair Housing Alliance revealing the appraisal industry’s dysfunctional regulatory framework and gaps in fair housing training for appraisers. Much of the report centers on the Appraisal Foundation. But Burns said that the Appraisal Foundation is not responsible for all the industry’s problems — state regulatory obligations combined with loose federal oversight also poses a challenge. The FHFA has in the past said that a “uniform regulatory framework does not exist at both the state and federal levels that holds non-appraisers accountable for their work on appraisals.” For the observant, the public positions regulators take on appraisal issues now may be a good barometer for how the interagency task force on appraisal bias, led by HUD, is approaching the same problems. “This is an indication that the PAVE task force is trying to delve in and try to discern whether these problems [of bias] stem from personal animosity and intentional bias, or are other things at play,” Burns said. According to a HUD spokesperson, the PAVE task force has already “meaningfully engaged” with key civil rights, philanthropic, industry and other stakeholders to identify persistent pain points and to identify solutions that bring about transformational change in how residential property is valued. Those engagements include more than 450 individuals, the spokesperson said, in multiple PAVE listening sessions. The task force is set to deliver its final report to the Biden administration in the coming month. The post CFPB is the latest agency to criticize the Appraisal Foundation appeared first on HousingWire. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Thailand to support digital technology to help economy – Finance Minister [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] It is the wish of every parent to give the best quality education to their kids which might include sending them abroad to study in the best of schools. However, with the soaring prices of education internationally, even the lifetime savings of parents seem to be inadequate to fund this dream. Therefore, experts say, it is important for parents to start the necessary planning when their child is young.  Basil Ali, Co-founder and COO, Edumpus says, “The best way to start the required preparations is to earmark funds for the child’s education. Financial assets attract more interest than saving deposits in the bank. So, one can invest in different stocks, mutual funds, bonds, etc. and maintain a diversified portfolio to gain maximum returns.” Note that, regular disciplined saving can help the fund grow and reduce the burden in the future. Having said that, while you make your efforts to save for your child’s education, it is also important to make them ready for different competitive exams that can help them prepare for competitive tests.  Ali says, “Many scholarships are offered to students through various qualifying rounds that include entrance tests, group discussions, and personal interviews. They also consider academic performance and extracurricular activities participated in. It becomes very important for the student to be astute to crack these exams and be a well-rounded applicant.”  This comes with an obvious disclaimer that the students should not be overburdened with the host of activities that they can do at the cost of making their application stronger.  More often than not, experts point out parents can find it difficult to plan and prepare to send their kids abroad to study. “The internet has all the information that one may need to make the decision but sometimes it is not enough to take care of all the apprehensions that parents might have. They would need personal guidance to see them through this journey which can come from parents who have already travelled the path,” says Ali. The ones who have sent their child abroad to study understand the nitty-gritty of the process.  Experts say one of the most important things to keep in mind is – one should not hesitate to consider an education loan. In spite of all the savings, Ali explains, “taking an education loan can prove to be advantageous than spending all of the savings at once. Educational loans are good alternatives as they are also tax-deductible under the income tax act.”  Note that nowadays, education loans are easily provided at competitive interest rates as well.  [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Sue McCormick is doing her part to help solve the nation’s increasingly complex affordable housing puzzle. In 2021, McCormick resold two renovated properties that she originally purchased at foreclosure sale on Auction.com in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Both properties sold to owner-occupant buyers for under $150,000 apiece. “I grew up in an area that was predominantly Black, working class, suburb of Dayton,” said McCormick. “Some of the areas where I grew up have taken a big hit. … There are some areas that have been hard-hit by things like drugs and crime. Some of those areas I’m investing in, and they’re starting to turn again so that’s exciting to see.” McCormick’s efforts are helping to improve neighborhoods and boost homeownership one house at a time in Dayton. Combined with thousands of other local community developers like her, McCormick’s efforts are moving the needle when it comes to quality, affordable housing for owner-occupants nationwide. An estimated 140,000 renovated properties purchased at foreclosure auction or bank-owned auction were resold to owner-occupant buyers between January 2020 and December 2021, according to an analysis of foreclosure and bank-owned (REO) auction sales data from Auction.com along with public record data from ATTOM Data Solutions. The Auction.com data was extrapolated using the public record data to arrive at the total market estimate of 140,000 resales to owner-occupants. That total market estimate is likely conservative given that some resales occurring in the second half of 2021 have not yet been captured by public record data. Local Community Developers Most of the renovated foreclosure resales came from local community developers like McCormick who sell a handful of renovated foreclosures a year in communities they care about. “I am very excited to enrich the communities that produced the person that produced me,” said McCormick’s daughter, Alexis Gaines, who has been helping her mother design the renovated homes. “My grandfather is also buried at the Veteran’s memorial [cemetery] down the street from this house. It’s awesome because every time we pass there I kind of feel like he is proud of us.” Ninety-eight percent of foreclosure auction buyers purchased five or fewer properties in 2020 and 2021 combined, and those small-volume buyers accounted for 78% of all foreclosure auction purchases nationwide. Similarly, 99% of REO auction buyers purchased five or fewer properties in 2020 and 2021 combined, and those small-volume buyers accounted for 89% of all REO auction purchases nationwide on Auction.com. The median distance between Auction.com buyers and the homes they purchased was 15 miles for foreclosure auctions and 16 miles for REO auctions in 2020 and 2021 combined. Seventy-eight percent of foreclosure auction buyers lived within 75 miles, and 75% of REO auction buyers lived within 75 miles. Affordably Priced Homes Owner-occupants purchased renovated foreclosures for an average price of $261,543 in 2020 and 2021 combined. That was 32% below the average sales price of $381,849 for all existing home sales during the same period. Nearly three-quarters of all renovated foreclosures purchased by owner-occupants (74%) sold for below $300,000, and nearly one-quarter (23%) sold for below $150,000. States with the lowest average resale price for renovated foreclosures were Iowa ($144,916), Michigan ($161,750), Ohio ($163,495), Nebraska ($169,392) and Oklahoma ($170,047). “The ideal property for me is one that I can retail for about $129,000,” said Steve Johnson, a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Auction.com buyer who has purchased properties in Tennessee and across the state line in Georgia. “That’s typically the first-time homebuyer, low-income, maybe single parent who can’t afford a big house payment.” The renovated foreclosures supplied by local community developers like McCormick and Johnson were not just low-priced relative to the overall housing market, they were affordable relative to the incomes in the neighborhoods where they sold. The average sales price of all renovated foreclosures ($261,543) was 3.4 times the median family income on average across all the Census tracts with renovated foreclosure sales, according to Census-tract level data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). That compares to a price-to-income ratio of 4.9 for all existing homes sales in 2020 and 2021 — using the aforementioned average sales price of $381,849 and the median family income nationwide of $77,263, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The average resale price for renovated foreclosures was consistently about 4 times the median family income, even in low-income and minority Census tracts. Historically the average U.S. sales price has run about five times the median household income, according to this Longtermtrends chart of home price data from the S&P/Case Shiller National Home Price Index and median household income data from the Census Bureau. The Longtermtrends chart shows the price-to-income ratio exceeding 7 in November 2005 and more recently in June 2021. 41,000 Sales to Owner-Occupants in Low-Income Neighborhoods Overlaying the Census-tract level data from the FHFA, which includes a designation for low-income tracts, shows that more than 41,000 renovated foreclosures were resold to owner-occupants in low-income neighborhoods in 2020 and 2021 combined. The FHFA data defines low-income tracts as those where the median family income is at or below 80% of the surrounding metro area’s median family income. The average sales price of renovated foreclosures sold to owner-occupants in low-income Census tracts was $210,211, 4.1 times the median family income of $50,889 on average in those same neighborhoods. States with the most renovated foreclosure resales in low-income Census tracts were Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, and Ohio. Census tract data was available for two of the three renovated homes that Johnson — the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Auction.com buyer — has resold to owner-occupants after purchasing at REO auction. Both of those renovated REOs sold for less than 2.5 times the neighborhood’s median family income. One was in a low-income Census tract with a median family income of $53,333. 46,000 Sales to Owner-Occupants in Minority Neighborhoods More than 46,000 renovated foreclosures were resold to owner-occupant buyers in minority Census tracts in 2020 and 2021, according to the resale analysis overlaid with Census tract data from the FHFA. The

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[ad_1] Colorado Springs to pay nearly $3 million to family of Black man shot dead by police [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education has declared the results of Class 12th examination for academic year 2021-22 for Kashmir Division on Tuesday.  Students who write the JKBOSE Annual regular part II examinations for Kashmir division can check the results on official website i.e jkbose.nic.in using their roll number present on the admit card. JKBOSE Class 10, 12 Exams for Kashmir Division were conducted in the months of November – December 2021. The exams were conducted in an offline mode at various centres with strict adherence to all Covid-19 protocols. Students had to take a consent letter from their parents to appear for the exam in the respective exam centre. JKBOSE Class 12th Result 2021-22: Steps to check score Open the official website of Jammu and Kashmir Board State Board of School Education, jkbose.nic.in Click on the Results section available on the homepage. Select Kashmir division from drop down menu. A new window will appear on the screen. Now, select the option for JKBOSE 12th Result 2021 Kashmir Division. Enter the required credentials roll number, and submit with the captcha. The JKBOSE Result will appear on the screen. Save results or take screenshot for future reference The board will release a separate mark sheet that will be available from the board’s office. Scorecard would also be available with the respective schools. Nearly 75 per cent of the 72,000 candidates have passed the 12th Class examination conducted by JKBOSE in November last year, and it was girls who took the first position in Science, Commerce and Home Science streams. Meanwhile, JKBOSE released the result of Class 12 board exams for the Jammu division on February 5 for all Science, Commerce and Humanities stream. [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] Newport Beach, California-based Excelerate Capital, a long-time non-QM lender with a growing market presence, finalized its acquisition of Castle Mortgage Corp. in early 2021 as part of a larger plan to expand its origination reach beyond California — with the goal of creating a national lending footprint.  That plan is now in full motion and, if successful, will double the lender’s origination volume this year, compared to 2021 — most of it in the non-QM space. It also will result in Excelerate nearly doubling its workforce and lead to its debut in the private-label securities market, according to Excelerate President and CEO Thomas Yoon. “In the past, we did 97% of our production in California,” Yoon said. “With the Castle acquisition and tech integration now completed, our intent is to lend nation nationwide in the non-QM market.  “And one of our strategic plans for our growth is we’re really bolstering up our retail division in 2022.” Yoon said Excelerate is now in the process of building up a “huge team of distributor retail groups” on top of the Castle brick-and-mortar retail network, adding that Castle, at the time of its acquisition, “was more of a shell” with only a handful of employees.  “We will be hiring retail guys that carry our flag through the Excelerate branches, but they’re not only in California,” Yoon added. “The bulk of them are in different states, like Florida, Texas, Washington, Arizona and Virginia.  “We need to have footprint outside of [California]. They’ll be based at brick-and-mortar branches and going out into their communities and building customers for Realtors and affinity partners.” That effort will result in Excelerate expanding its workforce by some 300 employees, Yoon said, adding that the lender is now “geared up to really make a push in all of the states.” “We anticipate by June of this year to be right around 700 employees,” he added. The goal of that push is to expand Excelerate’s overall origination volume from around $3 billion annually now to $6 billion or more in 2022, with the bulk of those originations in the non-QM space. Yoon said Excelerate’s non-QM originations in 2021 were “north of $2.6 billion,” and that non-QM volume is projected to expand to $5 billion for 2022. “About 85% to 90% of our overall production is non-QM,” Yoon added. Non-QM mortgages include loans that cannot command a government, or “agency,” stamp through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Non-QM loans typically make use of alternative-income documentation because borrowers cannot rely on conventional payroll records or otherwise fall outside agency credit guidelines. The pool of non-QM borrowers includes real estate investors, property flippers, foreign nationals, business owners, gig workers and the self-employed, as well as a smaller group of homebuyers facing credit challenges, such as past bankruptcies.  Manish Valecha, head of client solutions at Angel Oak Capital, part of Angel Oak Companies, said the non-QM market “as a percentage of the overall market is about 10% to 12% in a normalized environment” — adding that was the size of the non-QM market in the early 2000s, prior to the global financial crisis.  “That implies a market size [today] somewhere between $175 billion to maybe $200 billion,” he said. “… We just see the market overall growing, especially as the mortgage industry grapples with a slowdown in agency refinancing volume. We see more folks turning their attention to the non-QM space, and we see volumes growing.” A tally of private-label transactions in 2021 compiled by Kroll Bond Rating Agency shows that the value of non-prime securitizations in 2021 exceeded $27 billion based on aggregate loan-pool volume. A non-prime mortgage is essentially the same as a non-QM loan. In addition, at least 25 private-label transactions collateralized by more than 27,000 mortgages valued at $14.3 billion hit the market in January of this year, based on an analysis of the flurry of bond-rating reports published over the month. The offerings were evenly divided among the major private-label buckets, with non-QM accounting for nine deals valued at more than $4 billion. “If you look at it from an origination standpoint, think about all the loan officers that were able to just refi their current pipeline, with interest rates at 3% [or lower],” Yoon explained. “It was kind of a no brainer, just low-hanging fruit.  “Well, if you go to any originator and say, ‘Hey, 63% of your refi business is going to die this year,’ and let’s say 70% to 80% of their production was refi, how are they going to make a real living? They have to start learning how to adapt to their environment, and non-QM happens to be one of those [adaptations].” For Excelerate, another adaptation is to find ways to build liquidity for its expanding non-QM loan pipeline. To that end, Yoon said the lender is now working to develop a private-label transaction conduit, potentially by forming some type of joint venture with a private equity fund — with the goal of pursuing up to two private-label securitization offerings in 2022.  “I can’t explain the actual mechanism yet … but we are looking at potential joint ventures,” Yoon said. “I’ve been in talks with several really big [private-equity] funds, and we’re trying to figure out a way that we can do it together in one form or another. “I’m hopeful to do at least two deals this year and probably pursue a securitization of $250 million to $300 million for each.” Yoon added that for Excelerate, as one of the early adopters of non-QM lending, it’s important to remain at the forefront of the industry “and to educate our industry on how to do non-QM well.” “There will be some challenges [for the industry] in how to navigate the waters, so I think that’s going to be really important,” he said. “The growth is going to happen, regardless. I think the pain points of entry for a lender to do it well will be a little bit more difficult than for agency [Fannie and Freddie] lending because of the manual [underwriting] nature of the [non-QM] sector.”

[ad_1] He’s been doing so well in therapy and is starting to learn how to pull up, climb, and stand! She loves vacuuming… or trying to! I love watching them all hang out together in the mornings before school and in the afternoons and evenings after they get home from school! I never knew I would celebrate him making messes so much… but watching him learn how to have the skills to get into things and the curiosity to want to get into things is so exciting! (I share a little more in this video and caption here.) She’s loving learning so much right now!! She gets SO excited about colors and letters and numbers and counting… we’re trying to capitalize on her interest and enthusiasm! I’m over 20 weeks now — I can’t believe we’re halfway, baby! And the belly is starting to pop a little! I haven’t been doing weekly pregnancy updates like I did last time around, but I plan to occasional post updates for those who have asked. This week had a lot of ups and downs when it comes to pregnancy-related things… I started spotting last Monday and it got worse over the next few days so my OB wanted me to come in for an ultrasound. All looks great with baby but they did discover that my placenta was bleeding in a small section, so I’m supposed to take it easy for the next two weeks or so (no exercise, no lifting over 20 lbs., etc.) They think it will clear up within the next week or so but they gave me specific things to look for and strict instructions to call immediately if anything gets worse, I start cramping, etc. In addition, my hemoglobin has dipped a little more (we did labs again this week since I have a history of anemia), so I’m adding Blood Builder pills to my daily regimen of Slow-FE + orange juice. I definitely have felt more tired this week, so I’m hoping this will help. In happier news, we got to do the anatomy scan this week when I went in for the unexpected ultrasound! It was scheduled for this coming week, so it was fun to get that done — and everything looked great! We confirmed the gender (we had gotten the chromosomal blood test at 12 weeks) and baby is around 10 ounces and very, very active! I’m feeling so well overall. Tired, yes. Nauseous some, yes. But I feel like this has by far been my easiest pregnancy — and the time is passing by so quickly! I’m so grateful for the gift of getting to carry this life — something I didn’t expect would be happening again! I’m at the ravenously hungry much of the time stage, but am being careful with what I eat to help prevent heartburn as much as possible. My biggest cravings right now are sourdough bread toasted with butter, meat, cheese, and staying hydrated. I’m also happy that I’m able to enjoy salads again and am not really craving fast foods but mostly healthier foods (although I woke up multiple mornings recently wanting fresh doughnuts! ) An Update on Last Week’s Goals Personal Goals Delete 1000 photos and videos from my phone. Do one extra house-cleaning project every day (follow along on Instagram for details!) Reading Goals Finish reading Win the Day and The Woman They Could Not Silence. Finish reading The Jesus Storybook Bible with Kierstyn. Family Goals Have a family game night. Watch a movie with Jesse. Business/Blogging Goals Write post with an update on my yearly goals. Choose and post books for February. Book Goals Finish the Step-by-Step implementation plan for the end of the book. Work on final edits before turning book in to my publisher. My 8 Goals for This Week My big goal for this week is to do the final edits to my book manuscript because it’s due to my publisher on February 15. I’m keeping my goals simple with this in mind. Plus, we’re spending a lot of time watching the Winter Olympics (especially ice-skating!) together as a family right now! Personal Goals Delete 1000 photos and videos from my phone. Do one extra house-cleaning project every day (follow along on Instagram for details!) Do a craft project. Reading Goals Finish reading Unoffendable and The Woman They Could Not Silence. Family Goals Watch the Olympics & Super Bowl together as a family. Business/Blogging Goals Write a post on surviving & thriving with two littles. Book Goals Read through each chapter of the book. Work on final edits before turning book in to my publisher. [ad_2] Source link