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ยป VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 81 New Jersey Lender Settles Complaint New Jersey-based nationwide residential lender Freedom Mortgage Corporation recently agreed to pay $104,000 in a discrimi- nation settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. e HUD Secretary-Initiated Complaint, which was filed in 2013, alleged that Freedom Mortgage violated the Fair Housing Act by requiring loan applicants with disabilities to provide certain documentation that was not asked of applicants without disabilities. Under provisions of the Fair Housing Act enacted in 1968, a lender cannot "impose dif- ferent terms or conditions on a loan, such as different interest rates, points, or fees" based on "race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or handicap." HUD and Freedom Mortgage identified 69 loan applicants with disabilities who were subjected to different terms and conditions of the loan than those without disabilities. e 69 applicants were asked to provide proof from either a doctor or the Social Security Administration that they would receive dis- ability income for at least three years. "Applicants who are otherwise quali- fied for a home loan may not have addi- tional requirements placed on them because of a disability," said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD's assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "We are pleased that this national mortgage lender, through the agreement, is making a commitment to comply with its obligation to treat persons with disabilities the same way they treat those who are not disabled." One of the 69 applicants was asked to provide verification that his disability income would continue for three years despite already providing Freedom Mortgage with medical records documenting his disability, a Depart- ment of Labor Work Capacity Evaluation form, and proof in the form of a benefits statement that he had received disability pay- ments regularly since 2009. Freedom Mortgage employees will be re- quired to attend Fair Housing Act education as part of the agreement, and the company will cease requiring applicants with disabili- ties to provide proof of disability-related in- come. Under a three-tiered system Freedom Mortgage will create, each of the 69 affected loan applicants will receive either $1,000, $2,000, or $5,000 for damage compensation. New York RANK: 3 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate JULY 2014 2.74% 4.59% 6.4 YEAR AGO 3.16% 5.74% 7.7 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -13.5% -20.1% -1.3 Top County SULLIVAN COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JULY 2014 2.92% 1.92% YEAR AGO 2.68% 2.49% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 9.1% -22.9% Top Core-Based Statistical Area KINGSTON, NY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JULY 2014 4.69% 7.81% YEAR AGO 5.31% 8.60% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -11.7% -9.1% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the July 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary July 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. The missing piece for your Real Estate Needs! Kamla Jaikaran (Kay) Carrington Real Estate Services (US), LLC Kamla Jaikaran (Kay) 1010 Northern Blvd, Suite 208 Great Neck, NY 11021 Phone: 718-986-6517 Efax: 718-732-2711 Email: kdjaikaran@gmail.com www.carringtonres.com BPO/CMA orders: Please email: bpoprony@gmail.com New York Todd Yovino Broker/Owner Island Advantage Realty, LLC Metropolitan New York and Long Island's Default Specialist for Over 26 Years Todd@iarny.com | 631-820-3400 www.islandadvantage.com Pennsylvania RANK: 12 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate JULY 2014 2.56% 2.26% 5.8 YEAR AGO 2.63% 3.19% 7.4 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -2.5% -29.3% -1.6 Top County MONROE COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JULY 2014 2.56% 3.24% YEAR AGO 2.45% 3.84% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE 4.4% -15.8% Top Core-Based Statistical Area EAST STROUDSBURG, PA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate JULY 2014 4.94% 9.20% YEAR AGO 5.47% 12.62% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -9.6% -27.0% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the July 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary July 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. IN THE NEWS Pennsylvania Not Quite Ready for Housing Market Rebound Minimal employment growth and weak demographics in Pennsylvania have economists convinced that the state's housing market is not quite on the road to recovery, according to a special commentary released