A revised-areas map that meets the new definition of “rural area” for U.S. Department of Agriculture housing programs is now available to USDA lenders and borrowers seeking affordable rural-home financing. The map was posted on the USDA Income and Property Eligibility Site on May 6 and users may access it by selecting “single family housing” under the Property Eligibility menu. More details about the changes will be available soon in frequently asked questions guidance, the agency said. The new definition of rural area is contained in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), which was enacted on Feb. 7 and made changes to federal rural development programs. Among other things, the bill redefined rural areas as those with populations up to 35,000 that are “rural in character” for eligibility in the USDA housing programs. The previous population requirement was less than 20,000 people. The area must be ...
AAG, NCRC Announces Fair Lending Partnership in Reverse Mortgages. American Advisors Group, ranked first among the nation’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage lenders in 2013 by Inside FHA Lending, has collaborated with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition to ensure fair lending to older borrowers. Through this partnership, AAG employees will complete an NCRC fair housing training course. In addition, the AAG will consult with NCRC to develop best practices for complying with the Fair Housing Act. An umbrella group of more than 600 community-based organizations, the NCRC will also serve as an adviser to AAG in providing HECM mortgages to qualified borrowers age 62 or older. AAG Chief Executive Officer Reza Jahangiri said the partnership is a huge step toward the promotion of fair lending practices and responsible lending. AAG was the top HECM lender in 2013 with $1.4 billion in total originations representing ...
With $1.811 trillion of mortgage servicing rights on its books at the end of the first quarter, it would take an earthquake to knock Wells Fargo into the humble 12-figure universe.
At the end of March, Two Harbors affiliate TH Insurance had $464.5 million of outstanding secured advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines.
It seems that GSE officials, to some degree, are trying to manage future expectations, but one thing is certain: guaranty fee income remains very strong.
Although the pace of blockbuster servicing deals appears to have slowed, the giants of the mortgage-servicing business continued to leak market share in early 2014. Significantly, there is now just one lender with more than $1 trillion in mortgage servicing. Back in the third quarter of 2005, Countrywide Financial became the first company to amass over $1 trillion in mortgage servicing, and Wells Fargo joined the club by the end of that year. Chase Home Finance became a $1 trillion servicer in the fourth quarter of 2008, shortly after Bank of America took over Countrywide and became the first $2 trillion servicer. But BofA dumped...[Includes two data charts]
Should Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increase the 25 basis point servicing fee they pay mortgage companies that service their loans? The issue was apparently raised by at least one mortgage executive at a recent advisory board meeting that Fannie held with some of its customers. Two servicing advisors with knowledge of the meeting confirmed the story, but few in the industry believe that any type of increase is being contemplated at this time. One major concern centers...