Watch out for
Scams, hidden fees, gotchas, and the traps the industry doesn't volunteer.
The Quiet Economy of the Closing Table
How a fifty-year-old federal law meant to protect home buyers from kickbacks created the loophole that made kickbacks the business model — and what it took for one state's attorney general to finally say so.
Talia BrennanMay 2, 202628 min readThree brokerage mergers in 12 months — and the case for shopping anyway
Rocket-Redfin. Compass-Anywhere. Real-RE/MAX. The pitch is convenience. A 25-year closing attorney calls it consumer haze — and he wants you to compare anyway.
Wallace HardyMay 1, 20268 min readYour Mortgage Could Get More Expensive If This 2014 Anti-Steering Rule Disappears
The CFPB wants to kill a rule that kept loan originators from steering you into expensive loans — and an industry insider says full repeal without a replacement would create chaos
Wallace HardyApril 28, 20264 min readA New Rule Could Make It Harder to Get a Mortgage — And You Can Still Weigh In
The agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wants to weaken rules that help first-time and lower-income buyers qualify, and the comment period closes November 3
Maren CollierApril 27, 20265 min readUSDA Just Cut Your Rural Buying Power — Here's What Changed and What You Can Do
A February policy shift slashed the maximum loan amount for one of rural California's most important first-time buyer programs, and time is running out for applicants already in process.
Eli AsanteApril 27, 20264 min readInsurers Are Dropping Texas Homes for Hail Risk—Even Homes With No Claims
Your roof could be perfect and your claims history clean, and your insurer can still drop you. Here's what you need to know before it happens to you
Joanne ParkApril 27, 20265 min readYour $120 Million in Ordered Refunds Just Vanished: The CFPB Is Letting Companies Walk Away
Apple, US Bank, Navy Federal, and Toyota escaped enforcement oversight early — meaning consumers owed redress from settled cases may never see a dime
Talia BrennanApril 27, 20264 min readFlorida's Insurance Non-Renewal Crisis Is Locking Buyers Out of mortgages — Here's What That Means for Your Closing
Insurers are dropping Florida homeowners at record rates, and it's creating a cascade effect that could kill deals, collapse property values, and reshape the entire coastal market
Joanne ParkApril 27, 20265 min readIf Your CFPB Case Just Got Transferred to DOJ, Here's What That Means for Your Money
The agency that returned $21 billion to 205 million consumers is handing off active enforcement to the Justice Department, and harmed borrowers say they may get nothing
Wallace HardyApril 27, 20264 min read