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Author Archives: Tory Barringer

Tory Barringer began his journalism career in early 2011, working as a writer for the University of Texas at Arlington's student newspaper before joining the DS News team in 2012. In addition to contributing to DSNews.com, he is also the online editor for DS News' sister publication, MReport, which focuses on mortgage banking news.

SIGTARP, CFPB, Treasury Issue Fraud Alert for Servicemembers

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Treasury issued a fraud alert Thursday warning the armed services community about scams targeting homeowners seeking mortgage assistance. The alert specifically warned about scammers attempting to exploit the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which can provide mortgage relief for struggling homeowners through modified payments.

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Freddie Mac Says Q1 Indicators ‘Encouraging’

Freddie Mac released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for May on Wednesday, pointing to the available data as an encouraging sign for housing and the economy in 2012-3. The release details information gathered about economic growth and housing markets over the first quarter of 2012. Although not all of the data is positive, the outlook stated that the data for the most part ""trend in the right direction.""

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Total Mortgage Expands Headquarters

Total Mortgage is adding an additional 2000 square-foot office space which will house the company's senior leadership. The new space will be part of the same building complex where Total Mortgage's origination and operation centers are located.

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Ellie Mae Awarded Patent for Security Model

Ellie Mae announced Wednesday that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company a patent for an advanced security model that enables managers, loan officers, and processors to securely access loan files and documents online. The patent is for an invention that allows multiple ownership of system files and resources while maintaining organizational control and security rules over users.

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Texas Appraisal Districts Perform Poorly in Review

The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association: (TTARA) released a report analyzing the findings of performance audits in Texas' 253 central appraisal districts (CAD). The report, titled ""Equal and Uniform...sort of,"" compiles the results of reviews of local appraisal districts performed by the Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD), housed at the State Comptroller's Office. The purpose of the evaluation was to see if appraisal districts in the state have the necessary tools to appraise property at its fair market value.

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California Promising Despite Drop in Sales: C.A.R.

The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported today that, although pending home sales in the state fell from March to April, other statistics indicate a good start for the housing market. C.A.R.'s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell from a revised 138.9 in March to 128.0 in April. This index was nearly 14 points higher than the revised 114.4 index from April 2011, marking the 12th consecutive month that pending sales were higher year-over-year. Pending home sales figures are often used as an indicator of the market's future direction.

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FINRA Fines Citigroup $3.5M for Inaccurate Mortgage Information

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced Tuesday that it has fined Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., $3.5 million for providing inaccurate mortgage perform information, among other violations. This inaccurate data may have led investors to make faulty decisions, FINRA said. FINRA found that Citigroup posted inaccurate mortgage performance data on its website from January 2006 to October 2007. This information stayed up until May 2012 despite reason to believe the data might not be accurate. Citigroup was informed several times that the posted information was faulty, but it did not fix the problem until May this year.

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