The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Mortgagee Letter 2014-15 on July 10 allowing dual agency agreements in FHA pre-foreclosure transactions. The new guidance will preserve dual agency agreements in FHA short sales, but require the properties to be listed for at least 15 calendar days before any offers are evaluated. After the 15-day period, offers may be evaluated as they are received. If multiple offers are received, the listing agent or broker must forward the offer that provides the highest net return to HUD and meets HUD's criteria for bid requirements.

 

These requirements must be implemented for all "New Approvals to Participate" no later than October 1, 2014.

 

Click here for more information.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose four points in July to 53 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released on July 17.

This is the first time since January that the indicator surpassed 50, the mark where more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. The HMI three-month moving average increased by a point in the Northeast to 35.

Click here to learn more. 

Citigroup has announced it will pay roughly $7 billion to settle a federal investigation into risky subprime mortgages that were given out leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.New York State is slated to receive $182 million from Citigroup as part of that settlement. According to state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, roughly half of New York’s share will go to programs that help New Yorkers struggling to hold on to their homes including mortgage-principal forgiveness and loan refinancing for current Citi clients. The money will also be used to assist local governments with community revitalization efforts including land banks, legal services and housing counseling agencies that provide no-cost representation through the attorney general’s Homeowner Protection Program.  

On Thursday, July 17, the Senate approved S. 2244, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2014, by a vote of 93-4.  S. 2244 reauthorizes the federal program created by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002 for seven years.  The government backstop created by the program for cases of catastrophic losses due to a terrorist event allows private insurers to provide affordable terrorism insurance coverage throughout the country. The recoupment provision in it protects taxpayers, while costing the government nothing.  In June, the House Financial Services Committee approved its version of a TRIA reauthorization bill, H.R. 4187. 

 

Click here to learn more.

With only six-months in office, the DeBlasio administration announced that it has already financed more than 8,700 units of affordable housing as part of the mayor’s plan to build and preserve 200,000 units of such housing. In this round of funding the city is investing roughly $250 million to create 2,600 new affordable units and preserve another 6,140.The new development projects are located in Brooklyn and the Bronx, while the preservation units are mostly located in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village.

Regarding Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, the mayor stated that about 20,000 homeowners have applied for money under the city-run Build It Back initiative, which was created to help those whose properties were damaged during the storm. As of last week, the city had begun work on 132 homes and had issued 397 checks worth a total of $6.37 million. The administration’s goal is to issue 500 checks and rebuild 500 homes by Labor Day.

 

For more information on the Build It Back initiative, click here.

Today's NYSAR Radio show will take a look at disclosures other than agency. Tune in at 10 a.m. on July 22 on your PC or Mac by using the player on the NYSAR Radio page. You will need to be logged in to listen. If you have not yet created your account with the website, you will need to click on "New User" on the Member Login page and follow the prompts.

Get involved and help guide the future of your state association by signing up for 2015 committee service. Committee sign up will be available online only between July 1 and July 31 at NYSAR.com.

Click here to learn more and to sign up.

 

Click here for more information or to register.

This is your final chance to enroll in NYSAR’s dental plan with optional vision rider for your insurance needs. After July 31, you will have to wait until next summer to enroll. Key benefits of United Concordia dental plan include: options to offer you a range in coverage and cost; lower rates with a two-year guarantee; orthodontia coverage; and more. New in 2014, the optional vision rider, administered by Davis Vision, includes: an annual vision exam; annual allowance for glasses or contacts; discounts on disposable contact lenses and laser vision correction; and more.

For more information about the plans and rates, please call 888-834-3713 or visit www.myrealtorinsurance.com/nysar.

With this money- and potentially life-saving benefit, you have the opportunity to evaluate your risk for several of today's most critical - and often undiagnosed - healthcare conditions. Held in convenient neighborhood or corporate settings across New York State, Life Line Screening offers painless, non-invasive screenings for strokes, aneurysms and other vascular diseases.

The 4-screening stroke, vascular disease and heart rhythm package ($240 value) is available at special NYSAR pricing of $135. Keep in mind, these same tests would likely cost more than $1,000 at a hospital. Watch your mail, call 800-636-0248 or visit www.lifelinescreening.com/nysar to find a screening near you.