Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf tells Bloomberg that he likes a lot of President Barack Obama's 2,300 page financial reform bill which is now law. His bank has $1.2 trillion in assets.

“Too-big-to-fail has been dealt with,” Stumpf said. He explained that the creation of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a system-wide risk regulator will prevent crises caused by the collapse of a mammoth banks or lender.

Stumpf also said new consumer protection

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An Massachusetts Institute of Technology studey calculates that every foreclosure decreases the value by 1% of all homes within 250 feet. The study examined the sales of 1.8 million Massachusetts homes for the past 22 years. Banks got no bargains when they try to sell a foreclosed home. The MIT study said the average sale price for a foreclosed home was 27% less than the appraised value.

MIT economist Parag Pathak worked with two Harvard researchers, John Y. Campbell and Stefano

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The Appraisal Institute applauded the U.S. Senate for passing a sweeping financial regulatory reform bill that includes the first modernization of real estate appraisal regulations in more than 20 years. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (HR 4173) is the first overhaul of appraisal regulations since the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) was enacted in 1989.

President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law. “This

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Most appraisers bear war wounds from this bleak economy and some have seen their livlihoods dwindle away completely. Finally, we have some good news to report to job-hunting appraisers; TSI Appraisal Services announced last week that it will hire more than 100 staff appraisers nationwide.

Troy, Michigan-based TSI has been recognized by Fortune as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America for four consecutive years. TSI says it facilitates more than 275,000

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Ward, June, Wally and Beaver Cleaver had little reason to venture into the dangerous big city because everything they needed was in their heavenly suburb. Even in the skanky world of Desperate Housewives, the suburbs seem shiny, bright, secure and prosperous. For decades, suburbs were the place city dwellers fled to once they were rich enough to leave the crowded, crime-prone city. But according to a Brookings Institution research report, almost one third of all of America’s poor now live in

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The original March 2008 agreements between the Attorney General of New York, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (now the Federal Housing Finance Agency) and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that established the Home Valuation Code of Conduct will expire in November 2010 (originally July 2010). After that, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are no longer obligated to maintain the HVCC.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which has already

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In an effort to continue to improve the quality of the appraisals Fannie Mae receives, the GSE has instituted some new appraisal requirements and made some clarifications. The good news for our customers is that FNC's Collateral Management System® (CMS®) and Collateral Headquarters™ (CHQ) platforms as well as the AI Ready data standard make compliance with these changes essentially automatic. Your appraisers will be able to get you the data you need and your system will be able to track and

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It’s called negative 50% equity. According to the Government Accountability Office, homeowners who negotiated lower monthly mortgage payments through the Home Affordable Modification Program are still drowning. The study reviewed stats through the second week of April.

It may be of little consolation to the underwater homeowners or their lenders, but Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman has vowed that banks and investment firms will accurately evaluate the risk involved

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Builder Magazine's Top 10 U.S. Builders is an eagerly anticipated annual list in the housing industry. This year, a nonprofit charity, Habitat for Humanity, landed among the bigfoot builders at #8. Founded 34 years ago in Georgia, Habitat volunteers raise funds and gather donated materials to construct homes for low income families. Habitat closed on 5,294 homes last year.

Builders are ranked by the number of homes sold and closed (including new homes and rehabs). Habitat

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