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Public Policy Issues
Why Are Settlement Services Overpriced? Why Has the Real Estate and Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) Failed to Reduce the Cost of Settlement Services? What Is Needed to Reduce the Cost of Settlement Services?
Does a Rule Prohibiting Lenders From Marking Up the Price of Services Purchased From Third Parties Protect Borrowers? How Can Borrowers Protect Themselves Against Unwarranted Markups?
Why Does the Good Faith Estimate of Settlement Fail to Protect Borrowers? What Could Be Done to Improve It?
Why Does Government Require Lenders to Itemize Loan Charges?
Why Is Mortgage Insurance Overpriced? Why Is it Useless For Borrowers to Try to Shop for Mortgage Insurance? How Can the Cost of Mortgage Insurance Be Reduced?
Why Are the Rules Regarding Termination of Mortgage Insurance So Complicated?
Does FHA Mislead Home Buyers About FHA Responsibility For the Condition of Their Homes?
What Are the Questionable Features of Special Assistance Programs for Cash-Short Borrowers Using FHA Mortgages?
Should FHA Loan Limits Be Raised to the Level of Those Applicable to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?
What Are Yield Spread Premiums (YSPs) and Why Are They Controversial? Why Has HUD Not Been Able to Restrict Excessive Broker Fees? Is There a Way They Could Do It Effectively?
Why Should Yield Spread Premiums Be Credited to Borrowers?
Do Any of the State Requirements For Disclosing Broker Fees Help Borrowers? What Disclosure Would Help Borrowers?
What Are the Various Types of Predatory Lending?
What Are the Various Proposed Remedies For Predatory Lending, and Which Make the Most Sense?
Why Do Rising Rejection Rates During 1993-98 Indicate a Greater Rather Than a Lesser Willingness by Lenders to Make Loans to Disadvantaged Borrowers?
How Is Truth in Lending (TIL) Supposed to Help Borrowers? What Information Does it Provide to Borrowers? How Useful Is This Information?
What Is the APR? What Is its Purpose? How Can the APR Mislead Borrowers? When Can a Borrower Safely Rely on the APR?
Why Is the APR on a Cash-Out Refinance Not Comparable to Any Other APR?
Why Doesn't Government Fix Obvious Flaws in the APR?
Can the APR Be Below the Interest Rate?
Why Does the Disclosure of a Prepayment Penalty on the Truth in Lending Statement Sometimes Confuse Borrowers?
Why Must a Borrower Who Wishes to Refinance a First Mortgage Need the Permission of the Second Mortgage Lender? What Are the Different Policies that Second Mortgage Lenders Have in Permitting This? Why Is This Not a Required Disclosure?
When a Home Buyer Assumes the Seller's Mortgage, Who Is Responsible For Accurate Disclosure of the Terms of the Mortgage?
Under What Circumstances Do Federal Disclosure Rules Allow Mortgage Brokers to Conceal Some of Their Charges?
Is Mandatory Disclosure Unfair to Mortgage Brokers?
Why Aren't Lenders Required to Disclose Their Total Fees Anywhere? How Can a Borrower Estimate Total fees From the APR?
How Did HUD Propose Changing the Regulations Regarding Loan Originations in 2002? What Problems Was HUD Trying to Resolve? How Well Would the Proposals Work?
Under What Conditions Should Borrowers Have a Legal Right to Fire Their Servicing Agent?
What Might Happen to the Housing Market If a Rate Spike and Decline in Property Values Occur Together?
How Can the Mortgage System Be Fixed So That It Works For Borrowers?
Why Should a Lender Be Allowed to Mark Up the Prices of Third Party Services if the Lender Guarantees Their Own and All Third Party Charges?
Should the Law Impose a Suitability Requirement on All Mortgage Loans?
What Are Referral Fees? Do Referral Fees Raise Settlement Costs to Borrowers? Has RESPA Succeeded in Eliminating Them? How Can Settlement Costs Be Reduced?
What Were the Causes of the Marked Rise in Sub-Prime Defaults in 2007; What Should Government Do (And Not Do); Can the Sub-Prime Market Be Replaced?
Should Government Require That All Mortgage Loans Be Affordable?
Should Mortgage Escrows Be Required by Law?
Should Mortgage Brokers Be Required to Be Agents of Borrowers? How Can Such a Requirement Be Made Effective?
Should Stated Income Loans Be Barred by Law?
Does the Sub-Prime Market Reduce Home Ownership?
What Is YSP Abuse, and What Is the Best Remedy For it?
How Would HR 3915 Impact the Market in Early 2008?
How Bad Is the Current Financial Crisis, How Long Will it Last, Will the Relief Plan Have a Major Impact?
Where Do the Federal Reserve Board's Proposals to Fix the Home Loan Market Fall Short?
Why Are the Interest Rate Risk Premiums Paid by Borrowers Both Too Large and Too Small?
How Did HUD Propose Changing the Regulations Regarding Loan Originations in 2008? What Problems Was HUD Trying to Resolve? How Well Would the Proposals Work?
What Are the Problems of the Treasury/Fed Proposals to Buy Mortgages and Mortgage Securities, and What Are the Alternatives?
What Is a "Bail-Out"?
Was Deregulation Implicated in the Financial Crisis?
What Happened to the Interest Rate on Low-Risk and High-Risk Mortgages as the Financial Crisis Evolved During 2007-2008
What Is the Professor's Plan For Breaking the Back of the Financial Crisis?
Would the FDIC Plan For Promoting Loan Modifications Work?
Are the Banks Hoarding the Capital They Have Receeived from Government, Rather Than Using It to Make Loans?
Why Should Government Give Priority to Reducing Foreclosures As Opposed to Assisting Banks?
Would Tougher Rules on Mortgage Brokers Help Prevent Financial Crises?
What Kinds of Regulation is Needed to Prevent Another Crisis in the Future?
What Is the Administration Plan to Help Beleaguered Borrowers ("Making Home Affordable"), and Where Does It Fall Short?
What Is "Desecuritization", and How Could It Unlock Value During a Financial Crisis?
MY QUESTION IS NOT HERE. I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE IT FOR THE PROFESSOR