(RECAP: Reducing or even eliminating the mortgage interest deduction could be worth considering as part of a comprehensive reform of the American tax code, Mortgage Bankers Association CEO David Stevens told CNBC on Wednesday. “We’re not religiously wed to the mortgage interest deduction,” Stevens said on “Squawk Box,” in a sign the real estate financing industry may be open to dealing on the well loved tax break. “Entry level homebuyers typically don’t deduct, don’t itemize. And wealthy borrowers won’t really care,” Stevens said. “[But] everybody needs to know the American that benefits from the mortgage interest deduction is the middle-class homebuyer.” For changes to the mortgage interest deduction to be on the table, Stevens said a broad tax reform package would have to provide offsetting protection for working Americans.)

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(RECAP: The National Association of Realtors is calling on HUD to speed up implementation of reforms to the Federal Housing Administration’s condominium reforms. Legislation signed by President Obama in July that makes numerous reforms to government housing programs included provisions that reduce restrictions on condominium buildings being FHA approved so that more FHA borrowers can buy condominium units. Realtors are hoping HUD will issue an interim proposed rule soon that will allow some of the condo provisions to go into effect straight away. But some in the housing industry worry a slow rulemaking process could delay implementation to after the November elections and the transition to a new administration. The Realtors estimate that less than 10% of condominiums currently qualify for FHA mortgage insurance.)

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(RECAP: Being on a waiting list for community-based services may be evidence enough that an individual with developmental disabilities is at risk for institutionalization in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. In a statement of interest filed this month, the Justice Department said that if individuals with developmental disabilities are not receiving services in the community, they may have a claim that their rights have been violated. “Non-institutionalized individuals with disabilities who are not currently receiving state-funded home- and community-based services may bring a claim that a public entity has placed them at risk of institutionalization or segregation in violation of the ‘integration mandate’ of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” the federal filing indicates.)

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