New regulations in the mortgage industry have wreaked havoc on the business, with lenders facing higher compliance risk and growing compliance costs, according to Fannie Mae’s third quarter survey of mortgage lender sentiment. The results show that 72 percent of lenders reported that recent regulations, among them the qualified-mortgage rule and the risk-based capital rules for banks, have had a “significant” impact on their business. Only 22 percent reported “minimal” impact ...
American Homeowner Preservation, a hedge fund that invests in distressed mortgages and helps some borrowers with loan modifications, said it proves distressed mortgage sales can be “preservative and profitable.” Officials at AHP said the fund has now helped more than 500 distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure via loan modifications. Investors in AHP also earn strong returns from the firm’s purchases of distressed mortgages. AHP started as a nonprofit in 2008, buying short sales ...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is poised to formally launch its e-closing pilot project shortly, with an eye towards simplifying the mortgage closing process for both borrowers and lenders and eliminating many of the “pain points” associated with it. “We are looking to kick off the pilot later this year and run it for about three months,” said Brian Webster, program manager for the bureau’s Office of Mortgage Markets, during a meeting of the CFPB’s Community Bank Advisory Council ...
Credit Plus, a provider of credit verification and automated loan file review services, has announced a new software application that will help lenders of agency loans defend against potential losses, indemnifications and repurchase demands. The program, QC Review, enables lenders to run pre-closing quality assurance and post-closing quality-control tests to ensure that loans they originate meet Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA/VA requirements. QC Review’s comprehensive ...
Zandi and deRitis believe that the FHA is on track to be able to lower its mortgage insurance premiums by 50 basis points to an average of 120 basis points for total upfront and annual premiums.
More trouble for Walter Investment Management? Meanwhile, according to NTC, as many as 490,000 homeowners could be affected by faulty servicer database records.