On April 5, the Federal Reserve System issued guidance to banks intended to spur the temporary conversion of Real Estate Owned (REO) to rental property. Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve strongly encouraged the sale of REO to investors for use as rental properties. With this new guidance, the Federal Reserve is offering banks the
Thomas C. Martin, Esq. Nowell Amoroso Klein Bierman, P.A., Chair, CAI-NJ Legislative Action Committee We have all heard of “Lin-Sanity!” Now we have “Legis-Sanity” as the electorate is bombarded with one proposed law after another affecting common ownership interest associations. Our efforts in this regard are geared toward seeking to reduce unfair burdens on our
On March 15, 2012, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued its long awaited final rule on transfer fees. FHFA had proposed a federal regulation which would have banned federally backed mortgages for property in a community association with a deed-based transfer fee. As originally drafted, the proposed rule would have cut-off nearly all mortgage
Thomas C. Martin, Esq.Nowell Amoroso Klein Bierman, P.A., Chair, CAI-NJ Legislative Action Committee The 215th New Jersey legislative session has now opened. Many additional laws from the prior session were re-introduced in the new session. As a result, some of the same bills remain in consideration. Importantly, the Community Associations Institute applied vigorously for an
For most of us of a certain age, the question “How much REO do you have in your portfolio?” was usually answered in terms of the number of eight-track tapes. Of course with the advent of the housing crisis, this term, which references Real Estate Owned or bank-owned property, has become the benchmark of distress
Thomas C. Martin, Esq. Nowell Amoroso Klein Bierman, P.A., Chair, CAI-NJ Legislative Action Committee The 215th New Jersey legislative session has now opened. Many additional laws from the prior session were re-introduced in the new session. As a result, some of the same bills remain in consideration. Importantly, the Community Associations Institute applied vigorously for
In 2010, Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to serve as the nation’s “cop on the beat” to protect consumers from harmful financial products. Officially opened for business on July 22, 2011, the CFPB is now responsible for enforcing most federal financial consumer protection laws. CAI’s members have a keen interest in the
Thomas C. Martin, Esq. Nowell Amoroso Klein Bierman, P.A., Chair, CAI-NJ Legislative Action Committee Election Day! Election Day is a date that concerns every politician. It seems that for good or bad, Trenton was so focused on the elections recently and did not have much time to legislate. As a result, many of the bills
CAI members know that 2011 saw the beginning of the federal government’s effort to rebuild our mortgage finance system in the wake of the worst housing and economic crisis since the Great Depression. As Congress and a host of federal agencies worked through this process, hundreds of pages of proposed regulations were drafted and issued
Thomas C. Martin, Esq. Nowell Amoroso Klein Bierman, P.A., Chair, CAI-NJLegislative Action Committee A myriad of legislative initiatives related to common ownership interest associations are pending in Trenton. Many of these proposals engage a wide variety of issues including pesticide applications, licensing of certain employees and regulation of board and open meetings. Board elections are
