by Roberta Fuchs President Barack Obama’s decision to weather a Republican backlash and reform immigration regulations could have a significant impact on the housing market. In allowing millions of undocumented residents to work legally and avoid the threat of deportation, Obama is opening a door to a sector of society formerly living in the shadow…
By Gary Acosta At the MBA Annual Conference in Las Vegas in October, FHFA Director Mel Watt announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will soon start purchasing mortgages with as little as 3% down payments. The GSEs have been requiring a minimum of 5% down. Clearly, this new announcement is in response to the…
By Lynita Mitchell-Blackwell If you have not heard of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals® (NAHREP), you most assuredly have felt the impact of this incredible organization. NAHREP’s mission is “to advance sustainable Hispanic homeownership” through education, advocacy, and relationship building with homebuyers, communities, and real estate professionals. NAHREP was founded in 1999…
President Barack Obama extending a form of amnesty to about 5 million undocumented immigrants may not cause home sales to surge, but evidence suggests that immigrants add value to housing markets and aspire to buy homes, and amnesty may make it easier for them to access mortgage credit. In a speech Thursday night, the president…
By Kate Berry It was a plea, a tirade, a call to arms. Maurice Jourdain-Earl walked up to a microphone at a banking convention last month and unleashed a diatribe against banks and mortgage lenders for failing to hire more minority loan officers. “Until companies diversify their work forces, they will not penetrate communities of…
By Jessica Huseman A recent post on Zillow’s discussion board asked an interesting question: Can undocumented immigrants receive mortgages? “No,” several respondents said flatly. Another, a mortgage broker from California, answered: “Yes, if they steal a citizen’s identity first.” The answers, whether tongue-in-cheek or real, were to be expected — and they are also wrong.…
MBA Staff MBA NewsLink recently posed questions to Gary Acosta, co-founder and CEO of NAHREP, The National Association of Hispanic Real Esate Professionals, San Diego. Acosta is a mortgage banker with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. He has owned and operated several successful mortgage-banking companies. He currently serves on the consumer…
BY SUZY KHIMM DURHAM, N.C. – Robbed while crossing the border, Hugo showed up in Durham with little more than a bump on his face where the thieves in the desert had broken his nose. Eighteen years later, Hugo still doesn’t have legal immigration status, but that hasn’t stopped him from securing the trappings of…
BY KERRY CURRY August 1, 2014 – With immigration reform stalled, housing professionals look for ways to help undocumented residents achieve the American Dream A surge of illegal immigration over the summer by unaccompanied minors has brought immigration reform and border security into the news in a big way. Still, the dramatic headlines – some…
BY JASON MADIEDO July 21, 2014 – The general perception in the mortgage industry is that the CFPB and their new regulations are like an albatross around the necks of mortgage companies, especially the smaller independents. The sentiment is that the new regulations add cost, limit credit availability and have created a sense of uncertainty…