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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will again halt evictions nationwide for foreclosed properties during the holiday season, National Mortgage News reported today. Both of the moratoriums issued by the government-sponsored enterprises begin December 19. Fannie's moratorium ends January 2, while Freddie's will last through January 3. While evictions cannot occur during these time periods, other legal and administrative proceedings related to pre- or post-foreclosure activities may continue.

Three reverse mortgage companies were collectively fined $790,000 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for using deceptive advertising that claimed consumers could not lose their homes, USA Today reported today. American Advisors Group, Reverse Mortgage Solutions and Aegean Financial reached consent agreements with the CFPB after the regulator's investigation found they used ads whose scripts featured similarly misleading though reassuring claims. Consumers with reverse mortgages can "live in your home for the rest of your life" "stay in your home forever" and "never ever be forced from your home,” according to the ads. Reverse Mortgage Solutions based in Houston and licensed in 48 states, said it was pleased with the settlement and "will continue to focus our efforts on improving our procedures for the future." American Advisors Group, licensed in 49 states and the District of Columbia, said in a formal statement that it takes its regulatory responsibilities seriously and has made a significant investment in its compliance and legal infrastructure to conform to all marketing laws and rules. Along with paying the financial penalties, the companies are required to make clear and prominent disclosures in their reverse mortgage ads and use internal oversight systems to ensure they are obeying all laws.

Jonathan Gray of Blackstone Group LP went on the biggest homebuying spree in history after the U.S. foreclosure crisis, purchasing repossessed properties from the courthouse steps and through online auctions, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Four years, $10 billion and roughly 50,000 homes later, he will find out if his gambit will pay off. Invitation Homes LP, the Dallas-based company Blackstone formed to maintain and rent those homes, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering that could come as soon as January. Though Blackstone is unlikely to sell much or even any of its stake in an IPO, the stock market debut will test investors’ interest in the idea that the rental-home business can be institutionalized as apartments, shopping centers and office towers were before.

Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee to run the Treasury Department, electrified Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders on Wednesday when he signaled that the mortgage finance giants would finally be allowed to get out from under the federal government’s thumb, according to a New York Times commentary on Saturday. “We [have] got to get Fannie and Freddie out of government ownership,” he told Fox Business. “It makes no sense that these are owned by the government and have been controlled by the government for as long as they have.” It has been more than eight years since the federal government took over Fannie and Freddie in the mortgage crisis; as such, they are the last big piece of unfinished business from that era. When the government changed the terms of their bailouts in the summer of 2012 and began expropriating all of Fannie’s and Freddie’s profits every quarter, it seemed as if that unsatisfactory setup would go on forever. After all, it is hard for the government to give up a honey pot that has returned over $60 billion more to the Treasury than the companies received from taxpayers during their troubles.