Podcast appearances and mentions of mark calabria

Keith discusses the mortgage landscape, emphasizing the benefits of cash-out refinances with Ridge Lending Group President, Caeli Ridge. They unpack the Trump administration's plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which could impact the mortgage market. Investors are discovering powerful strategies to leverage property equity and optimize their financial portfolios. By understanding innovative borrowing techniques, savvy real estate investors can access tax-efficient capital and create sustainable wealth-building opportunities. Consider working with a lender that specializes in investor-focused loan products and provides comprehensive education on the options available.  Resources: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Show Notes: GetRichEducation.com/554 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  You get paid first: Text FAMILY to 66866 Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search “how to leave an Apple Podcasts review”  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— text ‘GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Automatically Transcribed With Otter.ai    Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, we're talking about the mortgage loan landscape in this era. Is title insurance a rip off today? Is it worth it for you to pay discount points at the closing table to get a lower interest rate? Learn about how a cash out refinance. Is your ability to borrow tax free, much like a billionaire does, and what are the dramatic changes that the current administration could take to alter the mortgage environment for years, all today on get rich education.    Speaker 1  0:34   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, who delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki, get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast or visit get rich education.com   Corey Coates  1:20   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:36   Welcome to GRE from Liverpool, England to Livermore, California and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and you are listening to get rich education, the voice of real estate. Since 2014 it's been estimated that there are about 800 billionaires in USA, and hey, you might be one of them, but there's a pretty good chance that you aren't well. When it comes to lending and mortgages, you can actually take a page out of a billionaires playbook and do something very much like what they do whenever you perform a cash out refinance if you've got dead equity in a property, and you can borrow against your own home to a greater extent than you can against your rental properties, even either one of those is a tax free event, you've now got tax free cash, and you can use that money on anything from investing it in the stock market To using your proceeds for a down payment on more real estate or buying a boat or going to Disneyland, and you didn't have to relinquish your asset at all. You continue to hold on to the asset. Now, the mechanics are somewhat different, sure, but when you do a cash out refinance like this, it's a bit like billionaires borrowing against their stock. Instead, you're borrowing against the value of your real estate. In fact, listening to this short clip, it's Trevor Noah talking about how billionaires do exactly this, and you'll notice that the crowd laughs because it actually sounds funny that you can really do this,    Speaker 2  3:22   the shares that they hold in a company, because it is an unrealized gain, right? So they go like, yeah, you're worth 300 billion, but we can't tax you on those stocks because you haven't sold the shares, so you don't, like, have the money. And I understand the argument. They go like, No, you don't have it. It's just what it's worth, because it will also crash, and then you have nothing, so we can't tax you on it. Then I'm like, Okay, I understand that. Then Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter, all right? He offers to buy it. And then he says in his offer, he goes, I'm putting up my Tesla stock as collateral. Then I'm like, so you do have it? Then he's like, no, no, no, no, I don't have it. I don't have it. I'm just gonna say so then they accept the offer. He now buys Twitter. Now that they've accepted his offer, he now goes to private equity and banks and like other rich people and whatever. He goes like, can you guys borrow me the money to buy Twitter? And then he's like, I'm I want to buy Twitter because I don't want to sell any of my Tesla shares, so I want to use your money to buy Twitter. And then it's like, but then they're like, What are we loaning it against? And he's like, Well, my Tesla shares. Then I'm going, like, Wait, so, so you, you can, you can buy a thing based on what you have, yes, but when we want to tax you, you can say, I don't have it. Do you hear what I'm saying here?   Keith Weinhold  4:46   Yeah, you can borrow against your real estate if you have substantial equity in it. We'll talk about just how much now billionaires borrow against their stock holdings using financial products like portfolio lines of credit or. For securities based loans. These are the names for how they do it, essentially taking out loans and using their stock as collateral. And this allows them to access cash without selling their assets and without incurring capital gains taxes, much like you can so you can say that you don't want to sell your property in you don't have to go through some capital raising round either, like a billionaire might have to when they're borrowing against their stock. You can just have a more standard mortgage application for your cash out refinance, and you don't even have to have a huge portfolio. I mean, even if you just own one 500k property with 50% equity in it, you can do this so it's available to most any credit worthy person, again, tax free. But of course, this doesn't mean that you always should take this windfall, because it often creates a higher monthly payment. You've got to be the one that makes that decision in controlling your cash flows, that is key. I'll talk about that some more with today's terrific guests. Also the Trump administration's desire to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac we're going to talk about that and what that would do to the mortgage landscape. I am in the USA today, next week, I'll be bringing you the show from London, England for the first time, the following week, from Edinburgh, Scotland. Yes, the mobile GRE Studio will be in effect. I typically set it up myself, and I usually don't need the help of the hotel staff for an appropriate Sound Studio either. And then shortly after that, I will be in Anchorage, Alaska, where I'm competing in these fantastic mountain running races. And then by next month, that's where I hope to meet up with you in person for nine days of learning and fun, as I'll be in Miami as part of the faculty for the terrific real estate guys invest or summon at sea, where we're all going to disembark from Miami and go to St Thomas, St Martin and the Bahamas, and then after that great event, it is a long flight from Miami back to Anchorage again. And that's got to be one of the longer domestic flights, not just in the nation, but in the world, Miami to Anchorage, and then shortly after that, I will be in the Great Northeast early this summer, New York and Pennsylvania, including for my high school reunion. So I'll really be putting the miles on these next couple months. One interesting thing that I've noticed for next week's show, where I'll be joining you from London, is how much I'm paying per night at both my hotel in England and then later my hotel in Scotland. That's obviously a short term real estate transaction. These are some of the more expensive places in the world, really. So next week and then the week after, I just think you'll find it interesting. I'll tell you how much I'm spending per night in both London and then Edinburgh. And they're both prime locations, where the hotels are the center of London and then right on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. That is in future weeks as for today, let's talk about the mortgage landscape with this week's familiar and terrific guest.   I'd like to welcome in one of the more recurrent guests in our history, so she needs little introduction. She's the longtime president of the mortgage company that's created more financial freedom for real estate investors than any lender in the nation because they specialize in income property loans. It's where I get my own loans for my own rental properties. Ridge lending group. Hey, welcome back to GRE Caeli ridge.    Caeli Ridge  8:57   Thank you, Keith. You know I love being here with you and your listeners. I appreciate you having me.   Keith Weinhold  9:01   You've helped us for so long. For example, who can forget way back in episode 56 Yeah, that's a deep scroll back when Chaley broke down each line of a good faith estimate for us, that's basically a closing statement sheet. She told us exactly what we pay for at the closing table, line by line like origination fee, recording costs and title insurance so helpful. It's just the sort of transparency that you get over there. Buyers pay for title insurance at the closing table. It is title insurance a rip off. A few years ago, a lot of people speculated that title insurance would fade away because the property's ownership could be transparent and accessible to everybody on the blockchain, but we don't really see that happening. So tell us about title insurance, and really, are we getting value in what we pay for there at the closing table?   Caeli Ridge  9:54   Well, I think the first thing I would say is that it really isn't going to be an option as far as I. Know, as long as the individual is going to source institutional funding leverage use of other people's money, they're going to require the lender, aka Ridge lending, or whoever you're working with, they're going to require that title insurance that ensures their first lien position. Doing that title search, first and foremost, is going to make it clear that there isn't some cloud on title, that there isn't some mechanic lien that had been sitting out there for however many years it may have just been around. And those types of things never go away. So for a lending perspective, it's going to be real important that that title insurance is paid for and in place to protect their interests, things like judgments, tax liens, like I said, a mechanic's lien, those will automatically take a first lien position in front of a mortgage. So obviously we're not going to risk that and find ourselves in second lien position in the event of default and somebody else is getting paid before we are. So not really an option. Is it a rip off? I don't know enough about how often it's paid out, and not to speak to that, but I will tell you that it isn't a choice.   Keith Weinhold  11:07   Title Insurance, like Shaylee was talking about. It protects against fraud related to the property's ownership, someone else claiming rights to the property, and this title search that an insurer does it also, yeah, it looks for those liens and encumbrances, including unpaid taxes, maybe unpaid HOA dues, but yeah, mortgage lenders typically require title insurance, and if you the borrower, you might think that's annoying. Well, it does make sense, because the bank needs to protect their collateral. If a bank ever has to foreclose, they need to have access to you, the borrower, to be able to do that without any liens or ownership claims from somebody else. Caeli, how often do title insurance companies mess up or have to pay out a claim? Does that ever happen?   Caeli Ridge  11:50   I mean, if I have been involved in a circumstances where that was the case, it's been so many years ago, they're pretty fastidious. I don't know that I could recall a circumstance where something had happened and the title insurance was liable. They go through the paces, man, they've got to make sure that, and they're doing deep dives and searches across nationwide to make sure that there isn't any unnecessary issue that's been placed on title Not that I'm aware of. No.    Keith Weinhold  11:50   Are there any of those other items that we tend to see on a good faith estimate that have had any interesting trends or changes to them in the past few years?    Caeli Ridge  12:27   Yeah, I've got a good one, and this is actually timely credit reports. So over the last couple of years, something has been happening with credit reports where, you know, maybe three, four years ago, a credit report, let's say a joint credit report, a husband and wife went and applied that credit report might cost 25 bucks. Well, now it's in excess of 100 plus. Some of what we're going to be talking about today, it kind of gets into the wish list of Jim neighbors, who is the president of the mortgage brokers Association. He's been talking to the administration about some of his wishes, and credit report fees is actually one of the things that they're wanting to attack and bringing those costs down for the consumer. So when we look at a standard Closing Disclosure today, credit report costs have increased significantly. I don't have the percentages, but by a large margin over the last couple of years,    Keith Weinhold  13:21   typically not one of your bigger costs, but a little noteworthy. There one thing that people might opt and choose to have on their good faith estimates, so that borrower therefore would actually pay more out of pocket with today's higher mortgage rates. And I'm sure not to say high, because historically, they are not high. Do we see more people opting to pay discount points at the closing table to get a lower rate and talk to us about the trade offs there   Caeli Ridge  13:46   right now, first and foremost, that there isn't a lot of option for investment property transactions, whether it be a purchase or refinance. There's not going to be that option where the consumer gets to choose to say, Okay, I want to pay points for a lower rate or not pay points for a higher rate the not paying points is the key here. There isn't going to be a zero point option for investment property transactions. And this gets a little bit convoluted, and then I'll circle back and answer the question of, when does it make sense to pay the points, more points versus less points? We have been in a higher rate environment that I think a lot of people have become accustomed to as a result secondary markets, where mortgage backed securities are bought and sold, they keep very close tabs on the trends and where they think things are headed. Well, something called YSP, that stands for yield, spread, premium, under normal market circumstances, a consumer can say, okay, Caeli, I don't want to pay any points. Okay, I'll take this higher interest rate, and I don't want to pay any points, because that higher interest rate is going to have YSP, yield, spread, premium to pay compensation to a lender, and you know, the other third parties that may be involved in that mortgage backed security. But. Sold and traded, etc, okay? They have that choice under normal market circumstances. Not the case right now, because when this loan sells the servicing rights, whoever is going to pick up the servicing rights, so when Mr. Jones goes to make his mortgage payment, he's going to cut a check to Mr. Cooper. That's a big one, right? Or Rocket Mortgage, or Wells Fargo, whoever the servicer is, the servicing rights are purchased at a cost. They have to pay for the servicing rights, and let's say that's 1% of this bundle of mortgage backed securities that they're purchasing. Well, they know the math is, is that that servicer is going to take about 36 months before that upfront cost is now in the black or profitable. This all will land together. Everybody, I promise you stick with me, so knowing that we've got about a 36 month window before a servicer that picked up the rights to service this mortgage is going to be profitable in a higher rate environment, as interest rates start coming down, what happens to the mortgage that they paid for the rights to service 12 months ago, 18 months ago, that thing is probably going to refinance right prior to the 36 month anniversary of profitability. So that YSP seesaw there is not going to be available for especially a non owner occupied transaction. So said another way, zero point rates are not going to be valid on a non owner occupied transaction in a higher rate environment when secondary markets understand that the loans that are secured today will very likely be refinanced prior to profitability on the servicing side of that mortgage backed security that is a risk to the lender, yes. So we know that right now you're not going to find a zero point option. Now that may be kind of a blanket statement. If you were getting a 30% loan to value owner occupied mortgage with 800 credit scores, you know that's going to be a different animal. And of course, you're going to have the option to not pay points. The risk for that is nothing. Okay, y SP is going to be available for you, the consumer, to be able to choose points at a lower rate, no points higher rate. When does it make sense to pay additional points? Let's say to reduce an interest rate, the break even math. And you know, I'm always talking about the math, the break even math is actually the formula is very simple. All you need to do is figure out the cost of the points. Dollar amount of the points, let's say it's $1,000 and that's what it's going to cost you to, say, get an eighth or a quarter or whatever the denomination is, in the interest rate reduction. But you aren't worried about the interest rate necessarily. You're looking at the monthly payment difference. So it's going to cost you $1,000 in extra points, but it's only going to save you $30 a month in payment when you divide those two numbers, what's that going to take you 33 months? 30 well, okay, and does that make sense? Am I going to refinance in 33 months? If the answer is no, then sure pay the extra 1000 bucks. But that's the math, the cost versus the monthly payment difference divide that that gives you the number of months it takes to recapture cost versus cash flow or savings, and then you be the determining factor on when that makes sense.    Keith Weinhold  18:10   It's pretty simple math. Of course, you can also factor in some inflation over time, and if you would invest that $1,000 in a different vehicle, what pace would that grow at as well? So we've been talking about the pros and cons of buying down your mortgage rate with discount points before we get into the administration changes. Cheley talk about that math in is it worth it to refinance or not? It's a difficult decision for some people to refinance today with higher mortgage rates than we had just a few years ago, and at the same time, we've got a lot of dead equity that's locked up.   Caeli Ridge  18:40   I would start first by saying, Are we looking to harvest equity? Are we pulling cash out, or are we simply doing a rate and term refinance where we're replacing one loan with another loan, if it's for rate and term, if we're simply replacing the loan that we have today with a new loan, that math is going to be pretty simple. Why would you replace 6% interest rate with a 7% interest rate? If all other things were equal, you wouldn't unless there was a balloon feature, or maybe an adjustable rate mortgage or something of that nature involved there that you have to make the refinance. So taking that aside, focusing on a cash out refinance, and when does it make sense? So there's a little extra layered math here. The cash that you're harvesting, the equity that you're harvesting, first of all, borrowed funds are non taxable. What are we going to do with that pile of cash? Are we going to redeploy it for investing more often than not talking to investors? The answer is yes. What is that return going to look like? So you've got to factor that in as well, and then we'll get to the tax benefit in a moment. But generally speaking, I like to as long as the cash flow is still there, okay, you've got to have someone else covering that payment. Normally, there's exceptions to every rule. I don't normally advise going negative on a cash out refi. There are exceptions. Okay, please hear me. But otherwise, as long as the existing rents are covering and that thing is still being paid for by somebody else, then what you want to do is look at that monthly payment. Difference again, versus what you're getting out of it. And then you divide those two numbers pretty simply, and it'll take you how long. And then you've got a layer in the cash flow that you're going to get from the new acquisitions, and whether that be real estate or some other type of investment, whatever the return is, you're going to be using that to offset. And then finally, I would say, make sure that you're doing adding in the tax benefit. These are rental properties guys, right? So closing costs can be deducted now that may end up hurting debt to income ratio down the road. So don't forget, Ridge lending is going to be looking at your draft tax returns. Very, very important to ensure that we're setting you up for success and optimizing things like debt to income ratio on an annual basis.   Keith Weinhold  20:40   Now, some investors, or even primary residence owners might look at their first and only mortgage on a property, see that it's 4% and really not want to touch that. What is the environment and the appetite like today for having a refinance in the form of a second mortgage? That way you can keep your first mortgage in place and, say, 4% get a second mortgage at 7% or more. How does that look for both owner occupied and non owner occupied properties today?   Caeli Ridge  21:07   you're going to be looking at prime, plus, in many cases, if you don't want to mess with a first lien, a second lien mortgage is typically going to be tied to an index called prime. Those of you that are familiar with this have probably heard of that. Indicee. There's lots of them. The fed fund rate, by the way, is an index. There's lots of them. The Treasury is also another index. Prime is sitting, I think, at seven and a half percent. So you're probably going to be looking at rate wise, depending on occupancy and credit score and all of those llpas that we always talk about, loan level, price adjustment. You know, it could be prime plus zero, it could be prime plus four. So interest rates could range between, say, seven and a half, on average, up to 11 even 12% depending on those other variables. More often than not, those are going to be interest only. So make sure that you're doing that simple math there. And I would prefer if I'm giving advice the second liens, the he loan, which is closed ended, very much like your first mortgage, it's just in second lien position. It's amortized over a certain period of time, closed ended. Not as big a fan of that. If you can find the second liens, especially for non owner occupied, I would encourage it to be that open ended HELOC type.    Keith Weinhold  22:15   What are we looking at for combined loan to value ratios with second mortgages    Caeli Ridge  22:19   on an owner occupied I think you'd be happy to get 90. I think I've heard that in some cases, they can go up to 95% in my opinion, that would go as high as they'll let you go right on a non owner occupied, I think you'd be real lucky to find 80, and probably closer to 70.    Keith Weinhold  22:34   That really helps a lot with our planning. Well, the administration that came in this year has made some changes that can create some upheaval, some things to pay attention to in the mortgage market. We're going to talk about that when we come back. You're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President, Caeli Ridge I'm your host, Keith Weinhold.    The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group  NMLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President Chaeli Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lendinggroup.com. That's Ridge lendinggroup.com.    You know what's crazy? Your bank is getting rich off of you. The average savings account pays less than 1% it's like laughable. Meanwhile, if your money isn't making at least 4% you're losing to inflation. That's why I started putting my own money into the FFI liquidity fund. It's super simple. Your cash can pull in up to 8% returns, and it compounds. It's not some high risk gamble like digital or AI stock trading. It's pretty low risk because they've got a 10 plus year track record of paying investors on time in full every time. I mean, I wouldn't be talking about it if I wasn't invested myself. You can invest as little as 25k and you keep earning until you decide you want your money back. No weird lockups or anything like that. So if you're like me and tired of your liquid funds just sitting there doing nothing. Check it out. Text family to 66866, to learn about freedom. Family investments, liquidity fund again. Text family to 66866   Hal Elrod  24:38   this is Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning and listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't put your Daydream.   Keith Weinhold  24:55   Welcome back to get rich education. We're talking about mortgages again, because this is one. Where leverage comes from. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, we're sitting down with the president of ridge lending group, Caeli Ridge, and I know that she has some knowledge and some updates on new administration leadership and some potential changes for the market there. What can you tell us? Caeli   Caeli Ridge  25:16   I'm pretty excited about this one, and I'm watching very diligently to see how it unfolds. So the new director of the FHFA Federal Housing Finance Agency, all is Bill Pulte. This is the grandson of Pulte Homes. Okay, smart guy. I'm excited to see what he's going to come in and do. Well. He had recently, I think in the last couple of weeks, he put out in the news wires asking for feedback from the powers that be, related to Fannie and Freddie, what improvements they would like to see. So first up was Jim neighbors. He is the president of the mortgage brokers Association. He had a few very specific wish list items, if you will. And the first one on his list was the elimination of LLP, as for non owner occupied and second home. So let me just kind of paint a picture here, because there's some backstory I think is important. So an LLPA, for those of you that have never heard that term before, stands for a loan level price adjustment. And a loan level price adjustment is a positive number or a negative number that associates with the individual loan characteristics. So things like loan to value or loan size, occupancy is a big ll PA, the difference between an owner occupied where you live and one that you're going to use as a rental property, that's a big one. Credit score, property type, is it a single family? Is it a two to four? Is this a purchase? Is it a refi? Anyway, all of those different characteristics are ll pas. Well, if we take a step back in time, gosh, about three years ago now, Mark Calabria, at the time, was the director of the FHFA, and he had imposed increases, specific increases. This was middle of 22 I want to say specific increases to the LL pas for non owner occupied property. So if anybody kind of remembers that time, we started to really see points and interest rates take that jump sometime in 2022 more than just the traditional interest rate market and the fluctuations. This was very material to investment property and second home, but we'll focus on the investment property. So Mr. Jim neighbors came in and said, first and foremost, I'd like to see those removed, and I want to read something to the listeners here, because I thought it was very interesting. This is something I've been kind of preaching from the the rooftops, if you will, for many, many years. Yeah, we've got neighbors sticking up for investors here. He really is. And I Yeah, well, yes, he is. And more often than not, they're focused on the owner occupied so I'm just going to kind of read. I've got my cheat sheet here. I want to make sure I get it all right for everybody. So removal of the loan level price adjustments on investment properties and second homes, he noted that these risk based fees charged by Fannie and Freddie discourage responsible buyers from purchasing second homes and investment properties, with that insignificant increase to cost. And here's the important part, originally introduced to account for additional credit risk, many of the pandemic era llpa increases were not based on updated risk metric. In fact, data has shown that loans secured by investment properties often have strong credit profiles and lower than expected default rates. I mean, anybody that has been around long enough to see what we've come from, like, 08,09, and when we had the calamity of right, the barrier for entry for us to get any conventional financing as investors has been harsh. I mean, I make that stupid joke of vials of blend DNA samples. But aside from it being an icebreaker, it kind of feels true. We really get the short end of the stick. And I feel like as investors especially, post 08,09, our credit profiles, our qualifications, the bar is so high for us, the default risk there has largely been removed. We've got so much skin in the game. With 20 25% down, credit score is much higher, debt to income ratios more scrutinized, etc, etc. So I think that this is, if it passes muster. I think this is going to be a real big win for the non owner occupied side of agency, Fannie, Mae, Freddie, Mac lending.   Keith Weinhold  29:13    The conventional wisdom is, is that if you the borrower, get into financial trouble, you're more likely to walk away from your rental properties than you are your own home and neighbors, sort of like a good neighbor here sticking up for us and stating that, hey, us, the investors, we're actually highly credit worthy people.   Caeli Ridge  29:29   Yeah, absolutely. So fingers crossed. Everybody say your prayers to the llpa and mortgage investor rates gods.   Keith Weinhold  29:37   we'll be attentive to that. What other sorts of changes do we have with the administration? For example, I know that Trump and some others in the administration have talked about privatizing the GSEs, those government sponsored enterprises, Fannie, Mae, Freddie Mac and what kind of disruption that would create for the industry. Is it really any credence to that?   Caeli Ridge  29:58   They've been talking about it for. For quite a while. I mean, as long as Trump has been kind of on the scene, that's been maybe a wish list for him. I don't see that happening over the next years. That is an absolute behemoth to unpack and make a reality. Speaking of Mark Calabria, he was really hot and heavy on the trails of doing that. So what this is, you guys so fatty Freddy, are in conservatorship that happened back post 08,09, and privatizing them and making them where it is not funded, or conservatorship within the United States government. Now it still has those guarantees against default. It's a very complicated, complex, nuanced dynamic of mortgage backed securities, but if we were to privatize them at some point now, am I saying that that's a bad thing? No, not necessarily, but I think it has to be very carefully executed, and because there are so many moving parts, I do not think that just one term of presidency is going to make that happen. If we do it, it's going to be years down the road from now. Is my crystal ball. I don't think we're going to see that anytime soon.    Keith Weinhold  30:58   That's interesting to know. Are there any other industry changes that are important, especially for investors, whether that has to do with the change in administration or anything else?   Caeli Ridge  31:08    Well, specific to that wish list from Mr. Neighbors, one of the other things that he had asked, and there were quite a few, for owner occupied changes as well, he wants to reduce the seasoning for cash out refinances of investment properties, which would be huge good. Yeah, right now it's 12 months on a cash out refinance given very specific acquisition details. Okay, I won't go down that rabbit hole, but currently, if you haven't met exactly these certain benchmarks, you may have to wait 12 months to pull cash out of a property from the day that you acquire it, he's asking that that be pulled back to about six months, which would be nice   Keith Weinhold  31:46   reducing the seasoning period from 12 months to six months, meaning that an investor a borrower, would only need to own that property for that shorter duration of time prior to performing a refinance.   Caeli Ridge  31:58    Cash out refinance, no seasoning required on a rate and term. This is specific for cash out. But again, for cash out, but exactly right   Keith Weinhold  32:04   now, one trend that I think about sometimes, especially when I think back to 2008 2009 days since I was an investor through that time, is, are there any signs in the reduction of the appetite or the propensity to lend, to make loans. So how freely is credit flowing?    Caeli Ridge  32:25   I think pretty freely. I'm not seeing that they're tightening the purse strings. That's not the lens that I'm looking at it from, and I try to keep that brush stroke broad. There have been, I think that on the post, close side, there's been a little extra from Fannie Freddie, and I think that has to do with profitability markers. But overall, I'm not seeing that products are disappearing necessarily, or that guidelines are really becoming even more cumbersome. If anything, I would say it's maybe the reverse of that, and I do believe that probably is part and parcel to this administration and the real estate background that comes with it.   Keith Weinhold  32:59   One other thing I pay attention to, but it just really hasn't been much of a story lately. Are delinquencies in foreclosures. It seems like they've ticked up a little bit, but they're still both really historically low and basically a delinquency being defined as when a borrower makes one late payment, and foreclosures being the more severe thing, typically a 120 days late or more. Any trends there? I'm not   Caeli Ridge  33:24   seeing any now. And in fact, I would tell you that, because we focus so much on investor needs, first payment default is I can count on less than one hand, if I had to, how many times I've seen that happen with our clients over 25 years. So nothing noteworthy there for me.    Keith Weinhold  33:40   Yes. I mean, today's borrowers are just flush with equity. Nationally, there's a loan to value ratio of 47% which is healthy, in a sense. On average, borrowers have a 53% equity position. Of course, the next thing, I think, is like, I don't really know if that's a smart strategy. They're not really getting that much leverage out there. But I think a lot of people just have the old mentality of get it paid off.    Caeli Ridge  34:06   And I think that depending on where you are in your journey, I mean, if you're in phase three, right, where you're just really looking at these investments, these nest eggs to carry you into your retirement and or for legacy reasons, fine, but otherwise, I may argue the point in that I don't care that you have a 3% interest rate on an investment property, or whatever it may be, if it's sitting there idle and as long as it can cash flow, the true chances of those individuals of keeping that mortgage that they got in 2020, 2021, etc, at those ridiculously low interest rates and stroking 360 payments later to pay it to zero is a fraction of a percent right now, whether they're on the sidelines for something else, I don't know, but that debt, equity, I think, is hurting them more than a 3% interest rate is helping them.   Keith Weinhold  34:52    And a lot of times, the mindset of someone is, if they don't need to build wealth anymore, and they're older and they already built wealth, they don't care if they're loaned to value. Was down to zero, and they have it paid off, whereas someone that's in the wealth building phase probably wants to get more leverage. Yeah, Chaley at risk lending group, there you see so many applications come in, and especially since you're an investor centric lender, I like to ask you what trends you're seeing. What are people buying? What are people doing? Are they refinancing? Are they paying loans off? Are they trying to take out more credit? Are there any overall trends with investors that you see in there    Caeli Ridge  35:29   right now? I think the all in one is a clear winner there. The all in one, that first lien, HELOC, that you and I talked about, we broke my little corner of the internet with that one, that one is a front runner for sure, on the refinance side, specifically, we are seeing quite a bit more on the refi side of things, that equity is kind of just sitting there. So even though, if the on one isn't a good fit for them, I'm seeing investors that are willing to tap into that equity instead of just sitting around and waiting for them to potentially lose some equity if the housing market does start to take some decline. And then I would say, on the purchase transaction side, something that's kind of piqued my interest is the pad split. I'm looking at that more often where, for those that are not familiar, you can probably speak more to this, Keith, they're buying single family resident properties, even two to four unit properties, and a per bedroom basis, turning those into rental properties. And they're looking to be quite profitable. So I've got my eyes on that too.   Keith Weinhold  36:23   before we ask how we can learn more about you and what you do in there at Ridge Kayle. Is there any last thing that you'd like to share? Maybe a question I did not think about asking you, but should have.    Caeli Ridge  36:35   I would like to share with your listeners that if they are not working with a lender that focuses on their education and has that diversity of loan product that we have, that they're probably in the wrong support group. You need to be working with a lender that has a nationwide footprint and that has diversity of loan product to cover whatever methodology of real estate investing that you're looking for, and really puts a fine touch on the education of your qualifications and your goals as they relate to underwriters guidelines   Keith Weinhold  37:10   what we're talking about, and I know this through my own experience in dealing with Ridge, since I use them for my own loans myself, is sometimes Ridge might inform You that, hey, you can go and do this and make this deal now, but that's going to mess up this bigger thing 12 months down the road, whereas if you talk with an everyday sort of owner occupant mortgage company, oh, they're just not going to talk like that, because owner occupants, they might only buy every seven years, or something like that. And investors are different, and you need to have that foresight and look ahead. Caeli, this has been great, a really informative conversation about the pulse of the market. Tell us what products that you offer in there.   Caeli Ridge  37:50   Our menu is very, very diverse. I would say what. It's probably easier to describe what we don't offer. We do not have bear lot loans or land loans. We're not offering those right now. We do not have second lien HELOCs currently. We suspended that two years ago. But otherwise, guys, we're going to have everything that you're going to need. So just very quickly, I'll rattle off Fannie Freddie, okay, those golden tickets that we talk about, we've got DSCR loans, bank statement loans, asset depletion loans, ground up construction, short term bridge loans for fix and flip or fix and hold. We have our All In One that's my favorite first lien. HELOC, we have commercial loan products for commercial property and residential on a cross collateralization basis. So very, very robust in the loan product space.   Keith Weinhold  38:33   Caeli Ridge, it's been valuable as always. And then Ridge lending group.com, or your phone number   Caeli Ridge  38:39   855-747-4343, 855-74-RIDGE, , and then to reach us an email, if that's your better mechanism to contact us info@ridgelendinggroup.com   Keith Weinhold  38:50   that's been valuable as always. Thanks so much for coming back onto the show.    Caeli Ridge  38:53   Appreciate it. Keith,   Keith Weinhold  39:00   Yeah, terrific information from Chaley. As always, if you're enamored of borrowing tax free, like a billionaire, against your real estate, they sure can help you out with that and determine whether that's right. It doesn't mean that you always should, but if you have investment ideas for debt equity, and you're attentive to cash flows, run the numbers with them and see if it's worthwhile. As far as new purchases, we all know that soured affordability has made it especially tough for first time homebuyers, and there's more data out there that shows that tenant durations are historically long, longer than they usually are. Tenants are staying in places longer because they have to. Investor purchases have stayed strong, though investors have been buying about the same proportion of single family homes and making them rentals that they have historically and Redfin tells us that. The value of properties that investors have purchased is up more than 6% year over year, so investors are still buying and that makes sense. We're in this era where there's more uncertainty than usual, there's higher stock volatility than usual, and more people are sort of asking themselves, where would I get a better return than on income property, and where would my return be more stable today than in income property as well? If you work with Ridge lending group for a time, you're probably going to understand why I personally use them for my own loans. You'll notice that they really understand what investors need. Thanks to Caeli Ridge today and thank you for being here too. But as always, you weren't here for me. You were here for you until next week. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 3  40:56   Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  41:20   You know, whenever you want the best written real estate and finance info, oh, geez, today's experience limits your free articles access, and it's got paywalls and pop ups and push notifications and cookies disclaimers. It's not so great. So then it's vital to place nice, clean, free content into your hands that adds no hype value to your life. That's why this is the golden age of quality newsletters. And I write every word of ours myself. It's got a dash of humor, and it's to the point because even the word abbreviation is too long, my letter usually takes less than three minutes to read, and when you start the letter, you also get my one hour fast real estate video. Course, it's all completely free. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream letter. It wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be easier for you to get it right now. Just text. GRE to 66866, while it's on your mind, take a moment to do it right now. Text GRE to 66866   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, get rich education.com.    

A new administration is in charge—what does that mean for appraisers? In this episode, we sit down with Mark Calabria, former Director of the FHFA and author of Shelter from the Storm, to break it all down.We'll dive into the feasibility of government spending cuts, the impact of employees returning to the office, and the future of the GSEs. Will we finally see the end of conservatorship? Mark shares his expert insights on what's next for real estate, housing policy, and finance.At The Appraisal Buzzcast, we host weekly episodes with leaders and experts in the appraisal industry about current events and relevant topics in our field. Subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our episode premieres every Wednesday!

In this special edition of the Appraisal Update podcast, guest host Hal Humphreys asks economist Mark Calabria to explain what the Fed's .5% interest rate cut means for mortgage markets, homebuyers, and appraisers.Calabria is a senior adviser to the Cato Institute, former director of FHFA, and the author of Shelter from the Storm: How a Covid Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted.

Welcome to Beyond the Numbers with McKissock Appraisal. In this insightful episode, we delve deep into the economic forces shaping today's real estate market. Join us as we welcome special guest Dr. Mark Calabria, Senior Advisor at the Cato Institute and former Chief Economist of the United States. Dr. Calabria brings a wealth of knowledge from his time overseeing housing policy and economic regulation. Together, we explore the key drivers of market fluctuations, the impact of rising interest rates, and what the future holds for buyers, sellers, and investors alike. Whether you're an appraiser, real estate professional, or simply curious about market trends, this episode offers expert analysis you won't want to miss. 

On today's episode, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler talks with Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami about Powell's press conference on Monday and HousingWire's interview with Mark Calabria where he talked about housing priorities in a potential second Trump administration. Related to this episode: Mark Calabria on housing and GSE conservatorship under Trump V2 HousingWire | YouTube Enjoy the episode! The HousingWire Daily podcast examines the most compelling articles reported across HW Media. Each morning, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsrooms that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted and produced by the HW Media team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introduction: Caleb O. BrownJennifer Huddleston and David Inserra on government overreach in TechKristin A. Shapiro and Robert Corn-Revere on Section 230 and other cases that impact Murthy v. Missouri and the First AmendmentErec Smith and Senator Eric Schmitt on DEI's divisive programmingCaleb O. Brown and Mark Calabria on the fundamental problem of housing policyExclusive: Alexander Hammond on Hammond's new book, Heroes of Progress Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Mark Calabria, former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, debate the best way to address the housing crisis, as well as the dangers of politicizing banking regulation, whether the Fed is too worried about consensus, if the central bank is secretly working on a central bank digital currency and who should play The Sphere next. 

Mark Calabria, former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, discuss how politics factors into the Fed's monetary policy decisions, decry the rescue of uninsured depositors last year, debate how to fix liquidity rules and weigh in on revamping the FHLBs.

Subsidizing both the buying and selling of homes in a seller's market means most of the subsidy will be absorbed by sellers. Mark Calabria explains why the President's plan won't create much new housing and offers some better ways to help Americans secure affordable housing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside Economics welcomes back Mark Calabria, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. We discuss the current housing affordability crisis and what policymakers should do to address it, the FHFA's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the risks posed by nonbank mortgage companies. The group also takes up the role of the Federal Home Loan Banks. Plenty of debate, and even some agreement.For more info on Mark CalabriaFor more info on Mark Calabria's book, Shelter from the Storm, click hereFollow Mark Zandi @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis @MiddleWayEcon, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn for additional insight.

Tim Rood speaks with Mark Calabria, Former Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), about policy trends in the year ahead and his new book, "Shelter from the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted."

Episode 77 is with Dr. Mark Calabria, former chief economist for former Vice President Mike Pence, senior advisor at The Cato Institute, and author of “Shelter from the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted.” Today, we discuss: 1) Mark's lessons learned from working as Former Vice President Mike Pence's chief economist; 2) How he helped the nation avert a mortgage crisis during COVID and issues with pandemic policies and their ongoing impacts; and 3) Why 2019's economy was so successful and how to improve the state and federal governments in 2024. Check out Mark's book: https://www.cato.org/books/shelter-storm Please share this podcast on social media and provide a rating and review. Also, subscribe and see show notes for this episode on Substack (www.vanceginn.substack.com) and visit my website for economic insights (www.vanceginn.com).

Mark Calabria returns to the Arch MI PolicyCast for a discussion on the benefits of risk-based pricing, whether the GSEs are necessary and what steps are needed to avert a financial meltdown.

In the first of a two-part episode, Dr. Mark Calabria, former FHFA Director and author of “Shelter from the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted,” discusses how his experiences during the Great Recession shaped his response to the pandemic and his involvement with policymakers to protect homeowners and renters.

Have you found yourself even just a little nervous about the economy? Are you prepared to pay the price for investors who can't? Biden has increased the budget for the IRS and has plans that may push investors and businesses out of the U.S. entirely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Inside Economics team takes shelter from a tornado (true story), and Mark Calabria, senior advisor to the Cato Institute and former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, describes the FHFA's efforts to provide shelter to the housing and mortgage finance markets during the pandemic. His new book “Shelter from the Storm,” is a fascinating telling of that difficult period.For more on Mark Calabria, click here.For more information on Mark Calabria's book "Shelter from the Storm," click here.Follow Mark Zandi @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis @MiddleWayEcon, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn for additional insight.

In today's episode, host Hal Humphreys talks with Mark Calabria about his new book, Shelter from the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown was Averted, as well as some of the major changes in the appraisal industry in the aftermath of the pandemic.At The Appraisal Buzzcast, we host weekly episodes with leaders and experts in the appraisal industry about current events and relevant topics in our field. Subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our episode premieres every Wednesday! 

Mark Calabria, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, offers his take on recent criticisms that the Federal Home Loan Banks have gone too far outside their mission—and what he would do to address them.

Mark Calabria was the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and prior to that, he was formerly a chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence. Mark is also a previous guest of Macro Musings, and he rejoins the podcast to talk about his new book titled, Shelter From the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted. Specifically, David and Mark discuss Mark's time as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the relief programs his agency ushered through during the peak of the COVID crisis, the history and handling of Fannie and Freddie, and a lot more.   Transcript for the episode can be found here.   Mark's Twitter: @MarkCalabria Mark's Cato Institute profile   David Beckworth's Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Follow us on Twitter: @Macro_Musings   Click here for the latest Macro Musings episodes sent straight to your inbox! Check out our new Macro Musings merch here!   Related Links:   *Shelter From the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted* by Mark Calabria

Mark A. Calabria is a senior advisor to the Cato Institute. He provides strategic input and direction on the federal economic policy making process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Calabria was the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute. Today, he is a senior advisor to the Cato Institute, and recently wrote a book on his experiences in the Agency, called Shelter From the Storm. Today, he talks to us about the book, and saving the United States from a 2008-like financial crisis by respecting congressional statutes in agency behavior and resisting calls for bailouts. He explains what the agency is and what it looks like “on the inside”. He addresses free market skepticism about being in government and influencing change. Never miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The housing crash of 2008, leading into the Great Recession, was one of the worst economic crises in the last hundred years. As governments around the world locked down their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the stage was set for a similar collapse in the real estate market, yet for the most part, it didn't happen. Mark Calabria, author of “Shelter from the Storm,” talks with Matt Kibbe about the ways in which some policymakers were able to avoid making the mistakes of their predecessors, and avoid making a bad situation even worse. This points to the importance of having libertarians and those skeptical of big government in positions of authority within the very bureaucracies they would like to eliminate altogether. Shelter from the Storm: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1952223563/

Revisit the critical days of March and April 2020 in Washington on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast. In this episode — sponsored by Intrafi — former Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discusses his new book Shelter from the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted. Calabria recounts the key decisions made in designing COVID-19 forbearance policies for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-owned mortgages and how he tried to avoid problems experienced during the post-financial crisis forbearance programs. Whereas many observers believed post-2008 relief was not well-targeted, Calabria said FHFA sought to target COVID forbearance to those who needed it most, including encouraging landlords to pass on relief to renters who otherwise cannot tap into homeowner forbearance. In the end, he says, 2 million Americans were helped and the relief was fully paid for by the GSEs. Calabria also discusses lessons for future crisis responses.

Mark Anthony Calabria was the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He was formerly the chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence. President Biden removed him on June 23, 2021, following the Supreme Court decision in Collins v. Yellen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Calabria, former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and author of the new book Shelter from the Storm, talks about why he resisted calls to bailout mortgage servicers during the pandemic, and how he knew their predictions of another mortgage crisis were overblown.

In his new book, Shelter from the Storm, Cato's Mark Calabria details his time as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency during one of the most turbulent times for housing finance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Anthony Calabria was the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He was formerly the chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence. He is now a senior advisor at the Cato Institute. We talk all things housing! Broadcast on Consumer Choice Radio on June 25, 2022. Syndicated on Sauga 960AM and Big Talker Network. Website: https://consumerchoiceradio.com ***PODCAST***  Podcast Index: https://bit.ly/3EJSIs3 Apple: http://apple.co/2G7avA8  Spotify: http://spoti.fi/3iXIKIS RSS: https://omny.fm/shows/consumerchoiceradio/playlists/podcast.rss Our podcast is now Podcasting 2.0 compliant! Listen to the show using a Bitcoin lightning wallet-enabled podcasting app (Breeze, Fountain, etc.) to directly donate to the show using the Bitcoin lightning network (stream those sats!).  More information on that here: https://podcastindex.org/apps  Produced by the Consumer Choice Center.  Support us: https://consumerchoicecenter.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, Salim Furth, a Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Urbanity Project here at Mercatus discusses the new White House Housing Supply Action Plan with Mark Calabria, who is a Senior Advisor at the Cato Institute. They dig into what the action plan can do to fix the housing crisis in the United States and where it might fall short.If you would like to connect with a scholar featured on this episode, please email the Mercatus Outreach team at mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu. Full transcript of this episode

On today's episode of HPS Insights, HPS Managing Director Jonathan Graffeo sits down with Mark Calabria, senior advisor at the Cato Institute and former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to talk about the current state of the housing market. Mark also previously served as the chief economist for Vice President Mike Pence and as a senior aide to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The two talk about the current state of the housing market, including how it compares to the housing market in 2008. They examine how factors related to COVID-19, such as increased disposable income and movement out of cities, impacted the housing market, leading to a gap between supply and demand. The impact of international affairs on housing also sparked discussion, as did the Federal reserve and upcoming midterm elections. Lastly, Jonathan and Mark chat about Mark's upcoming book, which will feature insights on the housing market from Mark's time at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.Read Mark's full biography.Read more about the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

On today's episode, Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler talks with Senior Mortgage Reporter Georgia Kromrei about the Fannie Mae executive that FHFA Director Mark Calabria wanted to give a $250K bonus to, and the feedback that consumer and mortgage industry leaders gave to FHA on its draft defect taxonomy.

Mark Calabria is the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates and supervises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. During his service at the agency, Calabria led the response to COVID-19, as well as laid the groundwork for a removal of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship.Prior to his heading of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Calabria served as chief economist to Vice President Mike Pence. In that role, he led the vice president's work on taxes, trade, labor, financial services, manufacturing, and general economic issues, including serving as a key member of the team that enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and on the team that crafted the United States‐Mexico‐Canada trade agreement. Calabria served as the vice president's primary representative for the U.S.-Japan Economic Dialogue. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There are certain times in life where change is the best thing that could have ever happened. Sandra Thompson replacing Mark Calabria is one I will celebrate for a long while.  Why? Well, Sandra Thompson gave us all a gift this past week by undoing the FHFA Adverse Market Fee.  This is a huge win for everyone trying to capitalize on the equity they have built up in their homes.  Mark Calabria initiated the Adverse Market Fee in August 2020 stating that there was "additional cost and risk" to FHFA with homeowners taking equity out of their homes.  What he was really doing was increasing capital levels during last year's historic refinance boom.   ----more---- Removing the fee will reduce interest rates, on average, by approximately 1/8th.  This means more money will be put back in the hands of the homeowner instead of the FHFA.  It will also continue to strengthen the options for homeowners coming out of forbearance.  Given today's low interest rates. if you have not refinanced yet; Christmas came early this year! Better yet, it's the gift that will keep on giving. Because rates will stay low for a little bit longer. As Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Yellen continue to state inflation today is all transitory and express that the debt and the market remain under control. Powell noted last week that the Fed's benchmark of “substantial further progress” toward full employment and stable prices remains “a ways off.”  He also said the Fed will alter monetary policy only if inflation is "materially and persistently" on a higher path.   Powell, I ask you... how much is "materially"?  and how long is "persistently"? So what does all of that jargon mean? That those who want to purchase or refinance but had not yet, have just been given the gift of additional time.  But this may be one of the last stops on the low-rate train. So how do you know which option is best for you?  Well, it's all about the big picture.  I always advocate for purchasing more properties, because I believe in building wealth through real estate. However, moving isn't always an option. Just had a baby? Need to pay off medical or credit card bills? Do you have to take care of a loved one? Whatever's happening in life sometimes, moving is just too much. And I get that.  So here's the next best thing. If you're planning to stay in your home for at least the next three years or if you are thinking about turning your home into an investment property down the road you could save quite a bit of money every month by refinancing now, especially if you are still paying mortgage insurance. It can also be about your quality of life. Maybe over the last year, you've been looking for a new home; but the right one keeps evading you.  Let's take out some of the equity in your home to give yourself a new bathroom, kitchen, or outdoor space. Because sometimes you have to treat yourself. And with interest rates so low, now might just be the time. 

Today's HousingWire Daily episode features an interview with HousingWire Senior Mortgage Reporter Georgia Kromrei. In this episode, Kromrei joins Housingwire Junior Digital Producer Victoria Jones to discuss the recent Supreme Court decision that found the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency unconstitutional and examines what the removal and replacement of former FHFA Director Mark Calabria could mean for the mortgage industry. Additionally, she also shares some insight on the FHFA's new acting director, Sandra Thompson, and the Biden Administration's long-term plan for the FHFA and GSEs. 

President Joe Biden will take immediate action to replace Mark Calabria, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump and has broad authority over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The United States Supreme Court cleared the way for Calabria's removal on Wednesday, stating that the president has the authority to remove the regulator. A White House official responded by saying Biden would begin the process of appointing an FHFA director who supports the administration's housing policy priorities. Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plummeted after the Supreme Court's decision, with each dropping more than 40%, the most in intraday trading since 2013.

In today's HousingWire Daily episode, HousingWire Junior Digital Producer Victoria Jones joins HousingWire Managing Editor James Kleimann to discuss the hottest topics coming across HousingWire's news desk.  In this episode, Jones and Kleimann discuss the latest jobs report from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics and also examine why there has been an uptick in executive departures at Fannie Mae. 

On Tuesday, May 11, the Center on Regulations and Markets at Brookings hosted Mark Calabria, director of the FHFA, to give keynote remarks on the agency’s progress in creating this rule. Following the keynote remarks, a panel of experts responded to the resolution plans. https://www.brookings.edu/events/living-wills-for-government-sponsored-enterprises-implementation-and-impact/ Subscribe to Brookings Events on iTunes, send feedback email to events@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. To learn more about upcoming events, visit our website. Brookings Events is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

In this episode of On the Hill, Tim Rood, SitusAMC Head of Industry Relations, speaks with Mark Calabria, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Prior to joining FHFA in 2019, Calabria was Chief Economist for Vice President Mike Pence, spent eight years as Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute, and served as a senior aide on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Calabria drafted significant portions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), which created a new regulatory framework for the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Calabria discusses how coming of age in the aftermath of the savings and loan crisis and spending seven years on the Senate Banking Committee shaped his approach to regulating Fannie and Freddie. “My philosophy as a regulator is to hope for the best but plan for the worst,” he said. “What's the worst 5 percent scenario? Even if only 5 percent likely to happen, there's too much at stake to cut corners. It's the decisions of these companies that landed them in the conservatorship. How do you get them to take ownership of their own decisions? How do you create a culture in these companies where they stand up and say we're not going to enable bad behavior?”

NAHB EO Jerry Howard and Chief Lobbyist Jim Tobin are joined by EVP of Housing Finance, Dave Ledford, to review recent updates in housing finance. Jerry, Jim and Dave discuss the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorship, the uncertain fate of Mark Calabria as FHFA director, the implications of HUD Secretary-Designate Marcia Fudge’s focus on low-income housing, and the steps needed to truly make housing reform comprehensive.

TMC's Rich Swerbinsky and Nationwide Mortgage Bankers President Jodi Hall discuss the Biden administrations efforts to oust Mark Calabria, what the Georgia Senate results mean for mortgage bankers, and what 2021 volume is likely to come in at compared to 2020.

There are things I know, things I wonder about, and things that boggle my mind.  Here are a few… I knew demand was about to explode before 2020 began. Demographics told us that.  8.8 to 9.2 million first-time home buyers were coming and they wanted a piece of the American Dream. With the largest age cohort numbering over 23 million, Americans aged 25 to 29 are looking to start families and buy homes.  And once someone has a child they are twice as likely to purchase a home.  I knew that a recession was coming, or at least I was pretty certain. America was on a Recession Watch at the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 tracking slowing manufacturing, shipping, business spending, and job creation as well as declining consumer confidence, talks of trade wars, and political unrest. The two and ten-year yields had also inverted pointing to a longer-term financial instability. ----more---- Housing inventory was low coming into 2020, down 10 percent year over year with active listings a paltry 5,025 homes for sale. Yet, buyers were not budging.  Forty-five percent of sellers at the start of 2020 had to reduce their price to get their home sold even though we only had 1.13 months of inventory.  Consumer spending similarly was the very thing that was keeping our economy afloat. Since spending is 70% of the GDP, consumers were determined to not allow the U.S. to go into a recession. Then, spending stopped because jobs stopped. COVID-19 shut the economy down, and to no one's surprise the recession began, but then it ended just a few months later. There was political and social unrest, and lives changed forever. The mortgage market was a mess and public enemy #1 Mark Calabria, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, became a target.  But here's what boggles my mind, consumers wanted to spend. But they couldn't, not on hotels and airfare, nor concerts and restaurants but they could on homes, cars, and oh yea, on stocks.  Housing remained resilient as we quickly defined “essential” and adapted to a work from home economy. Houses became bigger, more suburban, with 2 offices, and a place to work, play, workout, educate and relax. They became everything and everywhere to all of us. Coloradans who had jobs, saw weekly wages increase 8.7 percent. Counties like Denver saw the juxtaposition of 11 percent unemployment and 11 percent weekly wage increase in the same period. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve continued to support the markets, dropping the fed rate to zero, and injecting trillions through the purchase of mortgage-backed securities and treasuries. As long as they continue, we will continue to see mortgage rates low and equities high.  So I wonder, will the economy sustain while we distribute enough vaccines to realize herd immunity?  Will the stimulus package keep small businesses afloat or add to the equity market gains?  The Fed predicts unemployment at 5 percent, spending to increase 3.7 percent, and GDP rising to 4.2 percent in 2021. This is good! So, will they be able to justify a zero fed rate and quantitative easing until 2023?  And if they can't, will rates start to go up?  By how much? I also wonder once people go back to work, ballgames, concerts and travel; will they find things to buy other than houses?  Easing demand slightly and putting us back towards seasonal normals. January's DMAR Market Trends report is anything but normal. With 0.4 months of inventory, the visual of our trending closed homes to active inventory tells the story we are all feeling… there are not enough sellers to satisfy the spending hunger of the demographic swell. Year to date, we've sold 6.95 percent more homes than last year for a total volume of 15.44 percent more, yet 1.79 percent fewer homes came on the market. Active listings hit an all-time low of 2,541 homes for sale, which's down 49.55 percent from last year. Consider that there are 1.2 million households in DMARs 11 county area (per the census bureau). 0.2 percent of available homes are for sale. At the last census, Colorado's 2020 population growth was 2.63 percent year over year. Where are they all living? What boggles my mind is how our average and median prices did not move this month. We are all hearing of 5, 10, 42 offers per home with appraisal gaps and inspection waivers. Realtor friends are stumped at how to even price a listing in today's market. Per the report, single-family homes sold at 100.11 percent close to list. Yet, our prices stalled at 7.14 percent for our median close price growth and 7.94 percent for our average. Our market feels on fire, yet this is only 1 percent higher than the historical average. There is no doubt in my mind this year will be another incredibly strong year for housing. Low rates, favorable demographics, rising wages, and the wealth effect created by a staggeringly out of control stock market will be the story of 2021. With interest rates hitting record lows 16 times in 2020, buyers and investors alike are taking advantage of increased purchasing power and are willing to pay what a seller asks to get their own piece of real estate!  

In today's Daily Download episode, Mortgage Marketing Radio's Geoff Zimpfer and HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler discuss what a Biden presidency could mean for housing, as well as what the housing market could look like in 2021.For some background on the interview, here's a brief summary of HousingWire's latest article on Biden's housing agenda:As results trickle in following a historic 2020 general election, results seem to be leaning toward a Joe Biden victory, but potentially also a Republican-led Senate. What would the impact of a Biden presidency be on housing?Gridlock in Washington won't stop Biden's administration from attempting to push through sweeping changes into housing, where the former vice president has promised to invest $640 billion over the next 10 years so Americans can have “access to housing that is affordable, stable, safe and healthy, accessible, energy efficient and resilient,” according to his campaign website. He has pledged to introduce a tax credit for first-time homebuyers upwards of $15,000, reintroduce sharper regulatory teeth to agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, alter a spate of restrictive zoning laws to increase development, build millions of units of affordable housing, and cap payments for certain renters. It is also widely believed a Biden administration would keep the GSEs under conservatorship. Regardless of who's in the White House, observers from across the housing and mortgage industries believe interest rates will continue to hover near historic lows for the next several years and volumes will remain high, largely due to simple economic realities: there simply isn't enough inventory and the economy is too fragile for rates to increase. The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:What a Biden victory would mean for housing

In today's Daily Download episode, HousingWire's digital team interviews HousingWire Reporter Tim Glaze and Magazine Editor Kelsey Ramirez on their respective articles that discuss how the 2020 presidential election will affect the U.S. housing industry.The reporters examine the likely impact President Donald Trump or Former Vice President Joe Biden could have on the U.S. housing ecosystem if elected president.During the interview, Glaze addresses how Biden's proposed $15,000 tax credit could help financially strained first-time homebuyers, while  Ramirez examines how homebuilding, housing regulation, and the fate of the GSEs will be impacted if Trump were to win a second term.According to her, a Trump presidency would mean a continued effort toward moving the GSEs out of conservatorship.“When Trump first came to office four years ago, he issued a declaration that he wanted the GSEs out of conservatorship and he wanted it to happen now,” Ramirez said. “He appointed FHFA director Mark Calabria, who has worked to make that happen and he's consistently said that by the time he ends his term, he wants the GSEs either out of conservatorship or well on their way out.”Under a Trump win, Ramirez says housing regulation would continue to be a scaled-back approach.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:What a Biden victory would mean for housingWhat would a Trump win mean for housing?Mark Calabria: New director changes course for FHFATrump signs executive order to massively roll back regulationThe fate of Fannie and Freddie hangs in the balance

Today's Daily Download episode features an in-depth interview with David Stevens, former president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. In this episode, Stevens discusses the U.S. presidential election that is still underway and delves into what the future of housing officials could look like under a potential new administration. He also discusses his latest blog on the adverse market refinance fee.For some background on the interview, here's a brief summary of Stevens' latest article on the adverse market refinance fee:Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released their Q3 earnings last week, reflecting a combined $6.7 billion in net income, up significantly from the previous quarter. This strong performance was not unexpected, but makes the upcoming 50 basis point adverse market refinance fee more puzzling.In their earnings Q3 2020 10-Q release, Fannie Mae states the following, “We are implementing a new adverse market refinance fee in light of the increased costs and risk we expect to incur due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”Seriously? Fannie produced $7.2 billion in consolidated net income YTD with an impressive fourth quarter likely yet to come. And while they certainly are key to providing enormous liquidity to the nation's housing system, the results would never be what they were if it were not for two things.First, Federal Reserve actions loaded taxpayers with debt that now exceeds total GDP, pushing mortgage rates to historic lows. Second, agency MBS is one of two Triple-A rated instruments in housing on this earth, along with GNMA MBS, and draws investors globally. That rating has nothing to do with the GSEs' skill sets, it comes from the government guaranty backing these companies.In other words, for the GSEs, this success was unavoidable. The government's response to the COVID pandemic drove rates low, spurring consumer demand and the GSEs now benefit by being able to execute through any private capital option because of their exclusivity of the guaranty.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria Wickham.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:The adverse market refinance fee on mortgages is unwarrantedHow will the 2020 election impact the housing market?

This story was co-published with ProPublica. Sign up for email updates from Trump, Inc. to get the latest on our investigations. After the news broke in May of last year that government-sponsored lending agency Freddie Mac had agreed to back $786 million in loans to the Kushner Companies, political opponents asked whether the family real estate firm formerly led by the president’s son-in-law and top adviser, Jared Kushner, had received special treatment.  “We are especially concerned about this transaction because of Kushner Companies’ history of seeking to engage in deals that raise conflicts of interest issues with Mr. Kushner,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Tom Carper (D-Delaware) wrote to Freddie Mac’s CEO in June 2019. The loans helped Kushner Companies scoop up thousands of apartments in Maryland and Virginia, the business’s biggest purchase in a decade. The deal, first reported by Bloomberg, also ranked among Freddie’s largest ever. At the time, the details of its terms weren’t disclosed. Freddie Mac officials didn’t comment publicly then. Kushner’s lawyer said Jared was no longer involved in decision-making at the company. (He does continue to receive millions from the family business, according to his financial disclosures, including from some properties with Freddie Mac-backed loans.) Freddie Mac packaged the 16 loans into bonds and sold them to investors in August 2019. But Kushner Companies hadn’t finished its buying spree. Within the next two months, records show, Freddie Mac backed another two loans to the Kushners for an additional $63.5 million, allowing the company to add two more apartment complexes to its portfolio.  A new analysis by ProPublica shows Kushner Companies received unusually favorable loan terms for the 18 mortgages it obtained with Freddie Mac’s backing. The loans allowed the Kushner family company to make lower monthly payments and borrow more money than was typical for similar loans, 2019 Freddie Mac data shows. The terms increase the risk to the agency and to investors who buy bonds with the Kushner mortgages in them.  Moreover, Freddie Mac’s estimates of the Kushner properties’ profitability — a core element of any decision to back a loan — have already proven to be overly optimistic. All 16 properties in the firm’s biggest loan package delivered smaller profits in 2019 than Freddie Mac expected, despite the then-booming economy. The loan for the largest property lagged Freddie Mac’s profit prediction by 31% last year. U.S. taxpayers could be responsible for paying back much of the nearly $850 million in Freddie Mac financing if Kushner Companies defaults and its properties drop significantly in value. During the last real estate crash, taxpayers had to bail out Freddie Mac and its larger sibling, Fannie Mae, to the tune of $190 billion as the agencies plunged into the government equivalent of bankruptcy. (The agencies ultimately repaid the money and more.)  The involvement of Jared’s sister Nicole Kushner Meyer adds to questions about whether the family sought to exploit its political influence. Meyer, who shares her brother’s slight build, porcelain features and dark chestnut hair, lobbied Freddie Mac in person on behalf of Kushner Companies in February last year, a timeline of the deal obtained by ProPublica shows. She has previously drawn criticism for invoking her brother’s name while doing Kushner Companies’ business before.  In a statement Freddie Mac said it does “not consider the political affiliations of borrowers or their family members.” It called ProPublica’s analysis “random, arbitrary and incomplete” and asserted that the Kushner loans “fit squarely within our publicly-available credit and underwriting standards. The terms and performance of every one of these loans is transparent and available on our website, and all the loans are current and have been consistently paid.” A spokesperson for Kushner Companies did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment. There’s no evidence the Trump administration played a role in any of the decisions and Freddie Mac operates independently. But Freddie Mac embarked on approving the loans at the moment that its government overseer, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), was changing from leadership by an Obama administration appointee to one from the Trump administration, Mark Calabria, vice-president Mike Pence’s former chief economist. Calabria, who was confirmed in April 2019, has called for an end to the “conservatorship,” the close financial control that his agency has exerted over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae since the 2008 crisis. The potential for improper influence exists even if the Trump administration didn’t advocate for the Kushners, said Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University specializing in government and legal ethics. She compared the situation to press reports that businesses and associates connected to Jared Kushner and his family were approved to receive millions from the Paycheck Protection Program. Officials could have acted because they were seeking to curry favor with the Kushners or feared retribution if they didn’t, according to Clark. And if Kushner Companies had wanted to avoid any appearance of undue influence, she added, it should have sent only non-family executives to meet with Freddie Mac. “I’d leave it to the professionals,” Clark said. “I’d keep family members away from it.” The Freddie Mac data shows that Kushner Companies secured advantageous terms on multiple points. All 18 loans, for example, allow Kushner Companies to pay only interest for the full 10-year term, thus deferring all principal payments to a balloon payment at the end. That lowers the monthly payments, but increases the possibility that the balance won’t be paid back in full.  “That’s as risky as you get,” said Ryan Ledwith, a professor at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, of 10-year interest-only loans. “It’s a long period of time and you’re not getting any amortization to reduce your risk over time. You’re betting the market is going to get better all by itself 10 years from now.” Interest-only mortgages, which notoriously helped fuel the 2008 economic crisis, represent a small percentage of Freddie Mac loans. Only 6% of the 3,600 loans funded by the agency last year were interest-only for a decade or more, according to a database of its core mortgage transactions.  Kushner Companies also loaded more debt on the properties than is usual for similar loans, with the loan value for the 16-loan deal climbing to 69% of the properties’ worth. That compares with an average 59%, according to data for loans with similar terms and property types that Freddie Mac sold to investors in 2019, and is just below the 70% debt-to-value ceiling Freddie Mac sets for loans in its category. “What we generally have seen from Freddie and Fannie,” said Andrew Little, a principal with real estate investment bank John B. Levy & Company, “is they will do 10 years of interest-only on lower-leveraged deals.” Loans right at the ceiling are “not very common,” Little said, adding that “you don’t see deals this size that commonly.” Meanwhile Freddie Mac and its lending partner overestimated the profits for the buildings in the Kushners’ 16-loan package by 12 % during the underwriting process, according to the agency’s data. Such analysis is supposed to provide a conservative, accurate picture of revenue and expenses, which should be relatively predictable in the case of an apartment building.  But the level of income anticipated failed to materialize in 2019, financial reports show. The most dramatic overstatement came with the largest loan in the deal, $120 million for Bonnie Ridge Apartments, a 960-apartment complex in Baltimore. In that case, realized profits last year were 31% below what Freddie Mac had expected.  “That’s definitely a significant amount,” said John Griffin, a University of Texas professor who specializes in forensic finance and has studied mortgage underwriting. He co-authored a recent paper highlighting as worrisome loans in which projected profits exceeded actual profits by 5%. “It’s a problem when underwritten income is inflated or overstated,” he said. “That is a key metric that determines the safety of the loan.” Griffin’s paper found that 28% of all loans examined had projected profits that were 5% or more greater than what the properties actually earned in their first year. Some instances of underperformance could be caused by bad luck, the paper acknowledged, but “such situations should be relatively rare.” Yet in the case of Freddie Mac’s estimates in the Kushner deal, 13 of the original 16 loans met or exceeded the 5% threshold — many by a considerable amount. Read Heather Vogell's full print story at ProPublica. Related episodes:• He Went To Jared• Dirt• Trump and Deutsche Bank: It’s Complicated The Freddie Mac headquarters building in McLean, Va., Saturday, April 21, 2018. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

This week, Housing Policy Council President and former Federal Housing Finance Agency Interim Director Ed DeMarco, joins the Housing News Podcast to discuss the future of U.S housing regulation as well as what the November presidential election could mean for the housing market. In this episode, DeMarco discusses what lies ahead for the economy and the housing market once the forbearance period, which was implemented by The CARES Act and gave finically struggling mortgage borrowers the right to suspended payments without penalties for up to 12 months, comes to an end.During the interview, DeMarco also addresses the unique challenges facing the FHFA as the agency continues to navigate COVID-19's impact on the overall industry.  According to him, the FHFA will need to balance the uncertainties arising from both the pandemic and the policies that have been enacted to protect lenders and homeowners. “Yeah, so FHFA has got an interesting challenge,” DeMarco said. “They have to balance the uncertainties arising from the pandemic and all of the many steps that have been taken in response to the pandemic, with the longer-term goals that Director Calabria has been quite clear about in regard to wanting to end the conservatorships.”“So, you know, that's an interesting and difficult balance they have right now,” He said. “I expect this is out of the minds of the director and his staff, but of course, many other folks are awaiting the election to see what it all means.”The Housing News Podcast is a weekly wrap of the top news stories by HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler. Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines, sponsored by our partners at Freddie Mac.Here are links to the topics discussed:·      An end to Fannie, Freddie conservatorship by 2022?·      FHFA moves closer to ending conservatorship, issues new rule on allowing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to build capital·      Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announce underwriting advisers·      Lawmakers ask Calabria to rethink adverse-market fee·      Calabria does not expect widespread delinquencies due to coronavirus

In today's Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers a plea from the nation's lawmakers to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria to rethink the adverse-market fee.For some background on the story, here's a summary of the article: Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria took fire during Congressional testimony on Wednesday about the implementation of an adverse-market fee that's expected to add about $1,400 to the cost of refinanced mortgages delivered to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac after Dec. 1.The need for the fee is based on recapitalizing the two mortgage financiers so they can be released from government conservatorship, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said during his questioning of Calabria. That's a scenario that is unlikely to happen if former Vice President Joe Biden usurps President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election, as numerous national polls show him poised to do.“Don't institute the fee – wait until next year when a new Congress can look anew at whether we are going to recreate these agencies in a form that didn't work last time, and if not, we don't need the fees,” Sherman said, expressing a view echoed by several lawmakers during the session. Following the main story, HousingWire covers an announcement from the Federal Reserve that it anticipates mortgage rates will remain low through 2023, and an analysis from Pew Research Center that suggests more young adults are now living at home than during the Great Depression.The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:Lawmakers ask Calabria to rethink adverse-market feeFed says expect low rates through 2023More young adults live at home now than during the Great Depression

Today's Daily Download episode features an interview with Greg McBride, Senior Vice President, and Chief Financial Analyst at Bankrate.com. In this episode, McBride speaks with HousingWire about the recent postponement of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's adverse-market refinance fee.Earlier this week, McBride sent a statement to the HousingWire newsroom following the announcement of the fee's postponement:“The Federal Housing Finance Agency has decided to postpone implementation of the much-criticized Adverse Market Refinance Fee until December 1, and exempted refinances for loan amounts under $125,000,” McBride said. “While not as good as repealing it altogether, this is certainly better than the caper they pulled when they initially announced it without any advance notice.”During the podcast interview, McBride delves into why he believes the fee should be repealed as well as whether or not he thinks implementing the new loan-level price adjustment will benefit homebuyers and lenders.According to McBride, the fee may discourage homebuyers from refinancing as it has the potential to add more than $1,000 to their closing costs."This is not an ancillary charge that nobody's going to notice, it's half a percentage point of the loan amount that's being refinanced," he said. "While it may make great financial sense for consumers to refinance, they tend to balk for two reasons. One is that there are so many fees involved and the second is the cumbersome process.""While I don't know if the process will be altered, from a fee standpoint, it's sometimes a tough sell to consumers as people are often reluctant to incur upfront costs," he said. "So,  when you add another layer on top of that, my concern is that it will only further deter people from refinancing when they could otherwise benefit from doing so."The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported by the HousingWire newsroom team. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd and Victoria WickhamHousingWire articles covered in this episode:New fee on mortgage refinances could cost homeowners $1,400MBA President “stunned” by the FHFA's new mortgage refinance feeFannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEOs address industry on refinance fee grievancesFHFA delays refinance fee start date to Dec. 1

What have been the effects of COVID-19 on the housing and mortgage markets? Will Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to move toward exiting conservatorship? Mark Calabria directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency. We discussed mortgages and changes in the housing landscape driven by a global pandemic. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today's Daily Download episode, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers statements made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria regarding the nation's downturn in forbearance requests.For some background on the story, here's a summary of the article:Mark Calabria, who heads the government's watchdog agency overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that forbearance requests for loans backed by the GSEs have begun to level off. The forbearance rate for the GSEs, which back more than half of U.S. mortgages, have plateaued at about 6.6%, a level that's “manageable,” said Calabria, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.“We've seen over the last few weeks those numbers start to stabilize,” Calabria said. “Within the GSE portfolio, you see as many borrowers canceling their forbearance programs as you see rolling on.”Following the main story, HousingWire covers a plea from the National Association of Realtors for Congress to take action on emergency rental assistance, a report from Weiss Analytics that indicates some home sellers are pricing their homes below the market and the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly applications survey.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac forbearance rate is ‘manageable,' Calabria saysNAR urges Congress to pass emergency rental assistance for housing providersLooking for a bargain? There's still time to find houses that are “pandemic priced”Mortgage applications jump 13%

This week, MBS Highway Founder and CEO Barry Habib joins the Housing News Podcast to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the nation's housing ecosystem.In the second half of this two-show episode, Habib explains why U.S. markets now face an uphill battle as the unemployment rate falls to Great Recession levels, and why first-payment defaults on forbearance are problematic for the housing finance sector.Additionally, Habib discusses a conversation he had with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria regarding the state of U.S. mortgage servicing. According to Habib, Calabria anticipates there's a good chance the nation's forbearance window might close at the end of May.The Housing News Podcast is a weekly wrap of the top news stories by HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins. Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines, sponsored by our partners at Arch MI and Quicken Loans Mortgage Services.Here are links to the topics discussed:Banks have the biggest share of mortgages in forbearance Nearly 500,000 borrowers went into forbearance in the last weekDemocrats press top mortgage servicers on forbearance issuesHUD watchdog: Some servicers are providing wrong information about forbearance

In today's Daily Download episode, HW+ Managing Editor Brena Nath covers a PULSE article from former Mortgage Bankers Association President David Stevens on his thoughts on how the Federal Housing Finance Agency's actions have resulted in significant credit contraction for the mortgage industry.In his HousingWire PULSE article, Stevens says:It is now over one month since the CARES Act was passed, creating a blanket forbearance option for all borrowers in a GSE, FHFA, VA, or USDA loan to skip six to 12 months of payments. Legislation established by Congress with the intent of calming concerns of homeowners across the country has thrust an entirely new credit availability contraction over the entire nation.Because of the rush to pass legislation, the unforeseen adverse impacts could not have been fully vetted in advance. As a result, we found a multitude of challenges, but it really came down to these two:How would mortgage servicers come up with the tens of billions in needed advances to bond holders of loans in forbearance?What about borrowers who went into forbearance after settlement and before the loans were sold to the GSEs or into GNMA securities?Unfortunately, the FHFA director made some unwelcome judgmental comments and policy decisions that have resulted in an unprecedented tightening of credit across the entire mortgage industry, threatening to impair a key sector of the economy that some economists were expecting would help lead us back to recovery.Following the main story, HousingWire Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd covers Fannie Mae's announcement that more than 1 million of its borrowers are already in forbearance, plans by the nation's top GSEs to make payments directly to investors for loans that stay in forbearance longer than four months, and a report from OJO Labs that details how COVID-19 has changed the mindset of U.S. potential homebuyers.The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:[PULSE] David Stevens: FHFA actions resulted in unprecedented tightening of creditFannie Mae already has 1 million mortgages in forbearance, but thinks that number may doubleFannie Mae, Freddie Mac are preparing to cover servicers' advances on loans in forbearance

On today’s show we’re talking about the difference between Main Street and The Fed. The bailouts of the economy have been making headlines over the past month. The Federal Reserve has agreed to buy back hundreds of billions of in mortgage backed securities from the banks and from the mortgage insurers. They have allowed banks to temporarily drop their deposit reserves from the traditional 10% reserve to zero. Under normal times, that would mean the bank is insolvent, but not today. The Fed has their back. The US Federal Government has pledged $2.7 trillion in bailout money since the end of March. The big question is who is getting the money, and more importantly, who is getting left behind? Today in the Wall Street Journal, FHA director Mark Calabria was quoted as having said that he doesn’t plan to do much to help mortgage lenders outside the FHA umbrella where Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, have a potentially large exposure. Mr. Calabria, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is resisting pleas for help from lenders seeking relief as millions of Americans stop payments on their home loans, sending shock waves through the $11 trillion mortgage market. He has said he is willing to stand aside even if some of the mortgage lenders fail, and he says there is plenty of capacity to move business out of failing firms and into healthy ones, if necessary. His position offers a stark contrast to the rest of the federal government. As part of the emergency stimulus package approved by Congress in late March, homeowners affected by the pandemic were allowed to suspend mortgage payments for up to a year without penalty. As of last week, 3.4 million people had suspended payments, representing about $754 billion of unpaid principal, according to Black Knight, a mortgage-data and technology firm based in Jacksonville Florida. That represents about 6.4% of all residential mortgages out there. If you look at the breakdown even further, we can see that Fannie and Freddie make up less than half (precisely 46%) of the loans where borrowers have stopped making payments. FHA and VA loans have the highest rate of non-payment at 8.9%. The remaining 22% of the loans in forbearance are made up of loans where the lender is a privately held or portfolio held. I don’t have a problem with the notion that a bailout is coming. What I do have a problem with is the inconsistent application of the remedy. How can you protect 78% of the lenders, and then leave 22% of them out to dry? It’s not like the 22% private lenders did anything wrong. They took the same general risks as anybody else in the market. Arguably, they took less risk because they don’t have the leverage of being a bank where the banks loan out the same deposit another 9 times. Mortgage investment companies only loan out the money once. The same is true for issuers of bonds and insurance companies. What Mark Calabria is saying is that he doesn’t care if individual main street investors lose money. The banks will happily purchase those distressed assets for pennies on the dollar. The FHA position is alarming. If government isn’t going to help all lenders, just the ones they arbitrarily choose to help, this looks like a transfer of wealth. I don’t want to see equity investors lose money in these market conditions and I don’t want to see private lenders lose money either. Let’s say that a lender doesn’t get their interest payment for a month, or two, or three. Does that automatically mean that the lender is at risk of having a bad loan and losing their loan principal? Not necessarily. The question then becomes, how can private lenders work with their borrowers and stakeholder investors to provide the appropriate level of loan forbearance without risking the investor capital. This is clearly uncharted territory on a large scale.

  Let's kick off this episode's theme with a quote from Andy Andrews, author of, Bottom of the Pool.  "You have the power to choose every moment of every day, what YOU do with your time is entirely up to you.  You can invest it wisely or waste it foolishly.  By choosing how to invest your time, it follows that you are also choosing what you learn, how much you learn, how deeply you understand what you've learned, what your imagination makes of it——and in what fashion you act upon whatever that might be." ----more---- Somewhere along the line, the decisions that were made by the government in their haste to solve the consumer need, we got broken along the way. When they solved one problem, what happened is we had three to four new problems that surfaced. The very first problem was all the money that the federal reserve was pushing out in the market buying mortgage-backed securities. They were creating inequality of supply and demand and they were flooding the market with money. Now that money was creating instability and now we have ups and downs, this 2.5% coupon is just the 30-year coupon that we watched similarly to the 10-year treasury. So forget about the specific bond that I'm tracking, but this is the one that we track when we associate what is our 30 year fixed loans doing, our mortgage loans. So you'd have ups and downs, but within each day, you had very little volatility. Then the fed started pushing out all this money and every single day was a massive swing. Think of a property manager. Property managers don't own assets and they don't have savings accounts specific to that property. They're managing your property. So that rent check comes in every month from that, they take their cut, their 10%, they pay all the bills for any maintenance that needed to happen that week or that month. They might take care of any other expenses and then they cut you a net check. So they don't have a massive piggy bank to take care of what happens if the rents don't still come in, but I'm still required to pay my owners. It doesn't work that way. FHA said, "You know what? We're just going to wait and see." Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is saying, "No, we need the stability of the mortgage market to create stability in the real estate market. It was stable coming in. We needed to be stable going out and this is how we do it." He's leaning in on FHA to make that happen and he's reassuring that it will happen. Now the treasury doesn't have the ability to do it on their own, but he's certainly behind it. So is Federal Chair Powell. Powell Absolutely gets it, he sees it. And interestingly enough, Mnuchin and Powell have become allies in all of this and they're going against the FHA director, Mark Calabria. Housing is going to get worse before it gets better, but it is going to get better. And it's a timing thing. Remember we didn't start this until mid-March. We're only now in mid-April. It feels like forever. It feels like forever because we're trapped in our homes. But when it comes to financial positioning, we don't quite know where it is yet. Because remember all of the statistics for March were only half right. And now April is not over yet. So what does April's number's going to look like? But it is going to get worse before it gets better. But it will be much better when we come out of this. One of the things that I know is true is because the housing market was so strong coming into it right up until March, the pending home sales were still strong. They still had people that we're buying. I mean, we had a phenomenal January, February, and March. Even April is off the charts and it's because everybody that we had in the pipeline, what's May to look like? But we came into this very strong. Inventory was our problem. Any of the numbers that were weak, sales numbers that were weaker than they should have been was because of inventory. But January and February were phenomenal. We had a 6.25% growth in median sales price just in January and February alone. Again, because of the lack of supply, but the demand was off the charts. Remember that yes, manufacturing was down, but consumer spending was like phenomenal and consumer spending is 70% of the GDP. People's wages were up, spending was up, savings were up, they were feeling good. Colorado was the number two wage growth. We had consistent job growth week over week, and we had a really strong mortgage and financial environment as well. So if there was a time, and that's the silver lining I'm hanging on to, it's the time that we came into this being strong, we're going to come out of it strong. In this episode of the DoubleCommaClub, Nicole asks you, "Are you binging, or are you building?" She covers the DMAR market for the month with a detailed dive into the status of lenders, including nonbanks, unemployment immediate and longer-term effect on demand, and whether you should be guiding your borrowers to take action now.  Listen to this full episode to get all of Nicole's insights and results from her research for the week. Nicole Rueth The Rueth Team of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 750 W Hampden Avenue, Suite 500 Englewood, CO 80110 303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com Connect on social media: Follow me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/theruethteam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolerueth Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rueth-team-fairway-independent-mortgage/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPMdb94tUNMMsUTgdWRMDKw  

Jobless claims came out yesterday, and they were actually down just a tick, which really doesn't help at all because we're sitting now after three weeks, we have 3.3 million three weeks ago, 6.6 million the week after that, and then just right at 6.6 million, so we had a little bit over that two weeks ago, and then this week, we just came in at 6.6 million. Those are some staggering numbers. Having said that, I am going to continue to go back to the fact that this is not a housing bubble. This is not an economic recession. ----more---- MBA puts together this measure on a monthly basis, and they've been watching the credit availability and it fell off, and it fell off specifically because of those non-government backed loans. I want to talk about this for a second. This is the lowest level of mortgage credit availability since 2015, and a lot of this loss is in the non-government. If I look at conventional, which is non-government backed, which is an interesting term because you actually think of conventional kind of being all-encompassing, the conventional measure, in this case, is the non-government backed, so you're talking about the small banks, the portfolio loans, and the instances where they're not Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those went down 24% already, and they'll probably go down even further the next month when these are measured. Conforming, which is backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, was down 2.7%, the number of people that could be eligible versus were eligible last month. This is the measure of eligibility. Jumbo was down 37%. Jumbo has almost become non-existent. Only certain banks are having it, and they're requiring lower loan-to-values, lower debt-to-income ratios, and higher credit scores. Then, Ginnie Mae, which covers FHA, VA, and USDA was down almost 7%, and that's because of those credit score restrictions that we all saw, where we were coming up off of the 600. Some banks were going to 640, 660, 680, and then many of them were restricting the debt-to-income ratio to 45%. We also saw many lenders saw the loss of the down payment assistance programs. All of that goes into that. We're going to see that number go lower still in April. Now, interestingly enough, there's a lot of conversations going on today with Chase, who holds one of the largest warehouse lines. Chase CEO and Mark Calabria are, I don't want to say they're buddies, they know each other, and the question is, is, "Is this some sort of a play for market share?" I don't know. I'm just, I'm being human and I'm guessing. There are some conversations going on as far as, "Where is this going? What are the actual goals set behind the scenes that are creating this inability for FHFA to stand up where we need them most?", because that kind of stability is what gives me, the lender, you, the realtor and our consumers that we serve the knowledge and the comfort, knowing that this is all going to be okay, and the housing market, which was so strong before we got here will be that strong, if not, stronger when we get out. In fact, it's my belief that the housing market could be the very thing that continues to grow our economic strength and pull us out of this recession quickly. Those are conversations that have yet to have been concluded. They're conversations that are still going on. Who is going to be affected most? It's the first-time homebuyer. Listen to this full episode to get all of Nicole's insights and results from her research for the week. Nicole Rueth The Rueth Team of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 750 W Hampden Avenue, Suite 500 Englewood, CO 80110 303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com Connect on social media: Follow me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/theruethteam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolerueth Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rueth-team-fairway-independent-mortgage/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPMdb94tUNMMsUTgdWRMDKw  

The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom.Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.Today, HousingWire's Community Editor Brena Nath covers the Mortgage Bankers Association's response to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria's recent comments, regarding the FHFA not making any servicer liquidity available.According to the MBA, Calabria is sending a troubling message to U.S. borrowers, lenders, and the mortgage market at large.Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd also discusses Calabria's recent call out to observers calling forbearance a “mortgage holiday”, the bipartisan Senate push to create a liquidity facility for U.S. mortgage servicers and why the Federal Reserve believes the COVID-19 pandemic warranted a forceful response.HousingWire articles covered in this episode:MBA “strongly disagrees” with FHFA Director Calabria's stance on servicingCalabria does not expect widespread delinquencies due to coronavirusBipartisan Senate push for FSOC to create liquidity facility for servicersCOVID-19 pandemic warranted forceful response, Fed says

Forbearance will help save property owners who can’t pay their mortgage, but who’s going to save the mortgage service companies that have to pay the bond holders? Major players in the housing industry say that without a bailout, companies like Quicken Loans, Freedom Mortgage, Mr. Cooper, and other nonbank mortgage companies could have a serious liquidity problem. FHFA Director, Mark Calabria, doesn’t agree. He says there’s no evidence of a systemic failure among nonbanks.   The pandemic has triggered concerns about another foreclosure crisis because of all the job losses. That prompted the creation of a mortgage forbearance program for homeowners as part of the $2 trillion Cares Act.   www.NewsForInvestors.com  

Mark Calabria, Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offering multifamily property owners mortgage forbearance with the condition that they suspend all evictions for renters unable to pay rent due to the impact of COVID-19.

The Daily Download examines the most captivating articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom.Each afternoon, HousingWire provides its readers with a deeper look into the stories that are not only chronicling the biggest announcements within the housing finance industry but are also helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.Today, HousingWire's Community Editor Brena Nath provides us with an overview touch base on Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria's recent comments regarding a potential deluge of forbearance requests from borrowers. According to Calabria, the housing finance industry shouldn't expect the FHFA to save any nonbank from failing.  Digital Producer Alcynna Lloyd also discusses Calabria's claim that no liquidity facility is coming for mortgage servicers, the appraisal industry's lack of representation and a new report that identifies which housing markets are likely to be deeply impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

FHFA Director Mike Calabria, said today that they were going to "pause" on setting up any kind of liquidity facility for conventional loans. Unlike Ginnie Mae, which last week, set up a liquidity facility for government-backed loans...FHA, VA, USDA loans. Ginnie Mae said they were going to help support the Servicers of these loans to pay investors, property tax, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance for borrowers who couldn't make their payment Typically, Servicers are able to handle changes in the market and handle a situation where a small percentage of borrowers don't make their payment. But, they are NOT able to withstand the magnitude of borrowers seeking Forbearance. if 25% of all mortgage holders take advantage of Forbearance, that could cost the Servicers up to $25 BILLION a month. No Servicer is set up to handle that massive amount of liquidity needs to satisfy investors, property tax and homeowners insurance. ----more---- Mark Calabria stated he prefers to "wait and see" if liquidity facilities are needed, perhaps, in early 2021. Well, Mark, by then it may be too late because mortgage lenders and servicers need the ability to originate and service loans. And without liquidity support, it could put a halt on the ability to provide conventional loans for buyers. Mr. Calabria does not feel things are "not that bad yet". Not that bad yet? Just in the first week alone, there was a 1,270 percent increase in borrowers seeking forbearance. In the second week, there was an increase of 1,896 percent increase. Looking at just one servicer. During the first week available, Mr. Cooper allowed over 86,000 loans to go into forbearance. The second week there were 219,000 loans that went into forbearance, the third week 717,000 went into forbearance. There is no immediate sign of slowing down. ​The Big Question Remains: Is Real Estate Essential? CAR released a letter last essentially stating that they are needing to re-look at whether real estate is an "essential business". The 3rd update of the Colorado Public Health Order it did NOT include open houses or in-house showings as essential. The definitions are currently being debated among lawyers and said a formal position will be made available soon. As of the writing of this post, that position has not been released. Transactions are still considered essential. So contract transactions, loan origination, appraisals, and closing are still able to be completed. RSVP TODAY - Agent Ignite - Online Thursday, April 16th - 10:30 am via Zoom Featuring Bruce Gardner www.TheRuethTeam.com/events Nicole Rueth The Rueth Team of Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation 750 W Hampden Avenue, Suite 500 Englewood, CO 80110 303-214-6393 www.TheRuethTeam.com Connect on social media: Follow me on FB: https://www.facebook.com/theruethteam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolerueth Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rueth-team-fairway-independent-mortgage/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPMdb94tUNMMsUTgdWRMDKw

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday Podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, shares news on House and Senate hearings on disaster recovery [2:09], tax reform and housing finance reform. He also has an update on the status of the nomination of Mark Calabria as the next Federal Housing Finance Agency director [4:36]. He talks about when Congress may consider tax extender and disaster relief legislation [5:40]. Then, he highlights certain key issues he's hoping will be addressed in opportunity zones guidance that could help increase investment in underserved areas [7:11]. After that, he has some brief news relating to veteran housing and private activity bonds, low-income housing tax credit and private activity bond allocations for 2019 and HUD inspections. He closes with some state efforts to increase community development and historic preservation investments through tax incentives [12:39].

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday Podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, shares news on House and Senate hearings on disaster recovery [2:09], tax reform and housing finance reform. He also has an update on the status of the nomination of Mark Calabria as the next Federal Housing Finance Agency director [4:36]. He talks about when Congress may consider tax extender and disaster relief legislation [5:40]. Then, he highlights certain key issues he's hoping will be addressed in opportunity zones guidance that could help increase investment in underserved areas [7:11]. After that, he has some brief news relating to veteran housing and private activity bonds, low-income housing tax credit and private activity bond allocations for 2019 and HUD inspections. He closes with some state efforts to increase community development and historic preservation investments through tax incentives [12:39].

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday Podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, has news about a high-profile stop on Sen. Tim Scott's Opportunity Tour, a tour that highlights the opportunity zones tax incentive [2:12]. He also shares news regarding HUD's announcement last week of an expanded pilot debt program for low-income housing tax credit properties [5:22], as well as a significant shortening of the notification period before a HUD physical inspection [7:57]. After that, he talks about the Senate Banking Committee's consideration of key nominations, including that of Mark Calabria as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He also discusses some delayed CDFI Bond Guarantee deadlines. He closes with several state-level updates about low-income housing tax credit, historic tax credit and opportunity zones legislation [8:39].

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday Podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, has news about a high-profile stop on Sen. Tim Scott's Opportunity Tour, a tour that highlights the opportunity zones tax incentive [2:12]. He also shares news regarding HUD's announcement last week of an expanded pilot debt program for low-income housing tax credit properties [5:22], as well as a significant shortening of the notification period before a HUD physical inspection [7:57]. After that, he talks about the Senate Banking Committee's consideration of key nominations, including that of Mark Calabria as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He also discusses some delayed CDFI Bond Guarantee deadlines. He closes with several state-level updates about low-income housing tax credit, historic tax credit and opportunity zones legislation [8:39].

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday Podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, talks about the enacted appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019 [1:49], last week's opportunity zones hearing [4:17] and announcements from the CDFI Fund [8:32, 10:12]. He closes with the nomination of Mark Calabria as head of the FHFA, as well as a summary of three introduced state tax bills [10:45].

In this week's Tax Credit Tuesday Podcast, Michael J. Novogradac, CPA, talks about the enacted appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019 [1:49], last week's opportunity zones hearing [4:17] and announcements from the CDFI Fund [8:32, 10:12]. He closes with the nomination of Mark Calabria as head of the FHFA, as well as a summary of three introduced state tax bills [10:45].

January 7, 2019 starts a new leadership era for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as the new Acting Director from the Trump Administration, Joseph Otting, takes office, with the nomination of Mark Calabria as Director in process. FHFA is the regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, the combined housing finance assets of which are over $6 trillion, all involving an effective guarantee from the U.S. Treasury. What are the key issues and projects for the FHFA going forward? What can and what should it do to lead reform of Fannie and Freddie — and reform of American housing finance in general? What requires Congress and what might the FHFA, or the FHFA and Treasury, do on their own? Should the Senior Preferred Stock Agreements for Fannie and Freddie be revised? What about the role of the FHLBs? In spite of all the reform ideas, might the housing finance status quo persist?Ed DeMarco, who was Acting Director of the FHFA 2009-2014 and now heads the Housing Policy Council, will be interviewed by R Street Institute distinguished senior fellow Alex Pollock.Featuring:- Ed DeMarco, President, Housing Policy Council- [Moderator] Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior Fellow, R Street InstituteVisit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

January 7, 2019 starts a new leadership era for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as the new Acting Director from the Trump Administration, Joseph Otting, takes office, with the nomination of Mark Calabria as Director in process. FHFA is the regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, the combined housing finance assets of which are over $6 trillion, all involving an effective guarantee from the U.S. Treasury. What are the key issues and projects for the FHFA going forward? What can and what should it do to lead reform of Fannie and Freddie — and reform of American housing finance in general? What requires Congress and what might the FHFA, or the FHFA and Treasury, do on their own? Should the Senior Preferred Stock Agreements for Fannie and Freddie be revised? What about the role of the FHLBs? In spite of all the reform ideas, might the housing finance status quo persist?Ed DeMarco, who was Acting Director of the FHFA 2009-2014 and now heads the Housing Policy Council, will be interviewed by R Street Institute distinguished senior fellow Alex Pollock.Featuring:- Ed DeMarco, President, Housing Policy Council- [Moderator] Alex J. Pollock, Distinguished Senior Fellow, R Street InstituteVisit our website – RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

Norbert Michel is the director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation. Today, Norbert joins the show to discuss a new book of collected essays, which he edited, titled *Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation.* Norbert pushes back against the narrative that deregulation caused the 2008 financial crisis and argues that excessive regulation hinders growth and actually makes the financial system less safe. He and David discuss policy recommendations made in the book, including reforming the Federal Reserve’s last-resort lending practices, converting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) into a commission, and more. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Macro Musings podcast site: macromusings.com David’s Twitter: @DavidBeckworth Norbert Michel’s Heritage profile: http://www.heritage.org/staff/norbert-michel Norbert Michel’s Twitter: @norbertjmichel Related links: *Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation* edited by Norbert J. Michel http://www.heritage.org/prosperity-unleashed “Reforming Last-Resort Lending: The Flexible Open-Market Alternative” by George Selgin http://www.heritage.org/markets-and-finance/report/reforming-last-resort-lending-the-flexible-open-market-alternative “Reforming the Financial Regulators” by Mark Calabria, Norbert Michel, and Hester Peirce http://www.heritage.org/markets-and-finance/report/reforming-the-financial-regulators “Money and Banking Provisions in the Financial CHOICE Act: A Major Step in the Right Direction” by Norbert Michel http://www.heritage.org/markets-and-finance/report/money-and-banking-provisions-the-financial-choice-act-major-step-the

Mark Calabria is the director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute. Before joining Cato in 2009, he worked as a member of the senior staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He joins the show to discuss working on Capitol Hill amidst the 2008 financial crisis. Mark also discusses his recent Cato paper where he argues insights from behavioral economics suggest monetary policy should be more rules-based. David’s blog: macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/ Mark’s Cato Institute profile: https://www.cato.org/people/mark-calabria Mark’s Alt-M archive: http://www.alt-m.org/author/calabria/ David’s Twitter: @davidbeckworth Mark’s Twitter: @markcalabria Related links: “Yes, the Fed has a Diversity Problem” by Mark Calabria https://www.cato.org/blog/yes-federal-reserve-has-diversity-problem “Behavioral Economics and Fed Policymaking” by Mark Calabria https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/2016/9/cj-v36n3-6.pdf

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was supposed to wield broad, relatively unaccountable powers on behalf of consumers. There's just one problem with that, according to a federal appeals court. Mark Calabria comments on the ruling. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A proposed return to Glass-Steagall financial regulation is now a part of both GOP and Democratic platforms. How did that happen? Would it prevent another financial crisis? Mark Calabria comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bernie Sanders wants to turn credit raters into nonprofits. Mark Calabria comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Portions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform rest on a big flaw. Mark Calabria comments.Related:Event: Reforming the Federal Reserve's Rescue Authority See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The most publicized bailout of the financial crisis was the TARP bill that provided capital injections to a wide range of banks. But most of the assistance to financial firms was provided through a less publicized set of emergency lending programs authorized by Section 13-3 of the Federal Reserve Act. This emergency lending authority supported the Fed’s rescue of AIG, a massive set of guarantees for Citibank, which would have failed without them, and an alphabet soup of lending ‘facilities’ that supported a small set of Wall Street dealers with almost unlimited cheap credit for a period of years.When Congress examined this issue during the Dodd-Frank Act, they placed new limits on emergency lending that are contained in Section 1101 of the legislation. These limits are clearly intended to limit 13-3 lending to programs that are truly broad based (as opposed to bailing out a small set of insider Wall Street institutions) and to exclude the use of the program for bailouts of institutions that are actually insolvent. Join us as we discuss whether Dodd-Frank’s limitations to the Fed’s 13-3 powers went too far, or not far enough.11:30 a.m.–12:10 p.m.Panel 1: A Policy PerspectiveModerated by: Ylan Mui, Washington PostMark Calabria, Cato InstituteMarcus Stanley, Americans for Financial ReformPhillip Swagel, University of Maryland12: 15 – 12:45 p.m.Panel 2: A Congressional PerspectiveModerated by: Mark Calabria, Cato InstituteSenator David Vitter (R-LA)Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Subprime lending was a key component of the financial crisis. Now that the dust has settled, it's back in a big way. Mark Calabria comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Please join us for a special documentary film premiere. An Unlikely Solution offers first-person perspectives on the unique, newly emerging phenomena of consumer lending, via the Internet, by Native American tribes.There are few areas of finance that generate more controversy than short-term consumer lending, especially in the form of pay-day or installment loans. Critics see such loans as “predatory,” while others, including many consumers, see such products as filling a critical need of access to credit that traditional banks cannot or will not fill. As if to make an already controversial issue more so, a number of Native American tribes have entered this business, leveraging the power of the Internet to overcome the geographic challenges of remote reservations. The entry of lending companies formed as arms of tribal governments into this business has raised issues of tribal economic development and sovereignty, not normally considered in the regulation of consumer finance.Join us for a screening (approximately 40 minutes) of An Unlikely Solution, which examines these questions from the first-person perspectives of tribes, consumers, regulators and others.Following the film, there will be a special panel discussion featuring Gary Davis, President and CEO, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development; William Isaac, Former Chair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Chico Harlan, Personal Economics Reporter, The Washington Post; moderated by Mark Calabria, Director, Financial Regulation Studies, Cato Institute. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #UnlikelySolution. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we’re talking with Mark Calabria about homeownership and federal housing policy in the United States and its role in the 2008 financial crisis. Why does homeownership seem to be so important in the U.S.—or at least so important to our politicians? How do mortgages work, and how has the government been involved in tinkering with the mortgage market? What do Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration do? How do inflation rates and interest rates affect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s loan guarantees? How do people respond to these incentives? And finally, what caused the 2008 financial crisis and how can we avoid a repeat crisis?Show Notes and Further ReadingRandal O’Toole, American Nightmare: How Government Undermines the Dream of Homeownership (book)Peter Wallison, Thomas Stanton, and Bert Ely, Privatizing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks: Why and How (book)  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fixing Dodd-Frank won't be achieved by nibbling around the edges of reform. Mark Calabria discusses the deeper problems in the 2010 financial reform law. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

MetLife may soon be designated "systemically important," but what does that designation really mean? Mark Calabria comments. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Federal Reserve has assumed new powers in recent years. At the agency's 100th anniversary, Mark Calabria evaluates the calls for reining in the Fed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

- Mark Calabria, Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute - Please call 1-800-388-9700 for a free review of your financial portfolio

- Mark Calabria, Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute Please call 1-800-388-9700 for a free copy of the e-book A Case for Gold.

-Mark Calabria, Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute Moe talks about markets, gold and interviews Mark Calabria. Listen in for the way to get the Case for Gold e-book.