ABT Blog

Tax season is fast approaching. As you're gathering up all the important documents from last year, struggling to be sure that you have all the information you need and that you're filing your taxes accurately, there's one other thing you need to take into consideration: the potential for tax fraud. Both your personal information and your business information is at risk, but you can take several critical steps to protect yourself from tax fraud.

Mobile devices have revolutionized the way modern businesses function from day to day. Employees can now work from anywhere and from a variety of devices. Workers have more flexibility, mobility, and accessibility, and it’s brought about a number major advantages. In fact, few businesses can completely shut out mobile technology and remain competitive.

The Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) oversees the Federal Housing Administration, the largest mortgage insurer in the world. Because HUD plays such a major part in today's mortgage markets, it is important that loan officers are familiar with HUD in the mortgage industry.

Understanding the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) is crucial for mortgage loan officers because the data required by the law helps the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) determine whether lending institutions meet the housing/credit needs of U.S. communities. The data helps uncover discriminatory lending practices and direct community development block grants to specific communities, in order to encourage private investment. FFIEC collects data indicators on race and income distribution of borrowers, denial rates by race and income, and subprime loans/lenders by race.

For mortgage companies, nothing is more important than verifying that a prospective buyer has the income to repay the loan. The IRS is probably the best source to verify income, and the agency has a form that mortgagors can file with the IRS to solicit income verification.

Buying property comes with a lot of administrative paperwork and legal requirements. One of those requirements says that mortgage lenders must determine whether the property lies in a flood zone. Read on to learn how you can better manage flood zone determination for your mortgage customers.