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Category: Mortgages

QRM: Clarity in housing finance

| January 9, 2015

Clarity in housing financeIt took nearly three years, but the Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rule has been finalized by the Federal Deposit Corporation, which should translate into a win-win for homeowners who are relocating.

The new rule includes a broad definition of QRM and aligns with the Qualified Mortgage (QM) standard implemented earlier in 2014. The biggest sticking point in the passage of the QRM was the high down-payment requirements that previously proposed QRM rules imposed. Read More

Relocating? Should you rent or buy?

| June 6, 2014

 

Community of mutli coloured paper houses in a circleIf the real estate crash taught us anything, it’s that the old rules don’t work anymore, especially for those dealing with a relocation. Recently, TRC has seen a number of transferees opting to rent in a new location rather than buy. Many more have stopped looking at a house as an investment, but rather the place they call home.

The New York Times recently conducted an analysis that found in many of largest metro areas in the United States – New York City, the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami and Washington, D.C. – prices have risen so quickly that buying property is beginning to look like a perilous investment, with some experts concerned that a price correction is in the offing. Read More

Qualified mortgages and what they mean for relocation

| February 19, 2014

QMRelocation comes with a lengthy to-do list and its own lingo. Last month, two new words were added to the language of relocation – qualified mortgages – the new rules that now govern who gets approved for a loan and who doesn’t.

So what’s a qualified mortgage, commonly called QM in the world of relocation, banks and real estate?

New rules

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which wrote the newly enacted rules on how mortgages are approved. All lenders must now assess income, assets, credit history, other debt obligations and employment status. If lenders do not follow through on these evaluations, borrowers who cannot make their mortgage payments can contest foreclosures on the grounds that the lenders did not properly judge their financial standings and risk. Read More