Ex-agent convicted of swindling woman out of her home

☀️ The inevitable: Monday is here. Today’s newsletter is 582 words, a 2-minute read.

1. Ex-agent convicted of swindling woman out of her home

Former Rockland County real estate agent Oscar Dais has pleaded guilty to forgery and violating the Home Equity Theft Protection Act after stealing a home from a couple in foreclosure.

In 2016, Monique Hill and her husband defaulted on their mortgage and entered foreclosure. While Hill was in the Dominican Republic in August 2021, Dais forged her signature — using her old married name — on a deed, had it falsely notarized, and filed it with the county clerk, transferring the property to a company he controlled.

This marks the first conviction under New York’s theft protection law, designed to protect vulnerable homeowners facing foreclosure. Hill reported the fraud two months later and also filed a civil lawsuit, still pending.

2. Charted: Interest rate on outstanding mortgages

Among U.S. homeowners who have a mortgage, 70.4% have an interest rate below 5.0% in Q2 2025. That’s according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's quarterly National Mortgage Database (NMDA) released last week.

For comparison, in Q1 2025, 71.3% of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage had an interest rate below 5.0%.

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3. More Nuggets

💼 Douglas Elliman investigated over insider trading. (Reuters)

📰 Warren demands Bessent to provide more information on Fannie and Freddie reprivatization. (Gov)

🏦 Government shutdown looms large for real estate, mortgage. (HousingWire)

4. HUD cuts multifamily mortgage insurance premiums

Effective Oct. 1, HUD is reducing the FHA multifamily mortgage insurance premiums for all programs to 25 basis points, the statutory minimum the agency must charge, per a notice published in the Federal Register.

The update also eliminates three MIP rate categories — green and energy-efficient housing, affordable housing and broadly affordable housing — that the Federal Housing Commissioner said are “misaligned with the presidential memoranda and have become economically obsolete.”

These across-the-board MIP reductions are necessitated by a sharp rise in construction costs and mortgage interest rates since 2021, according to the agency. The goal is to lower financing costs in order to expand the supply of rental housing.

5. Zillow sued over job discrimination

Former Zillow executive Samuel James Herrera is suing the company for discrimination and wrongful termination. He claims he was denied promotions in favor of white colleagues and punished for conduct that executives ignored in others.

Herrera says he was fired in February 2024 over a $724 dinner expense he insists was pre-approved, after previously being pressured onto a performance plan following cleared harassment allegations.

Zillow disputes the claims, noting Herrera joined in 2010, not at the company’s founding, and says the allegations are “without merit” and inconsistent with its culture.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Wednesday!

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