The Mortgage Bankers Association welcomed proposed changes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s single-family loss-claim and loss-mitigation process but cautioned the proposal, as drafted, will result in higher lender losses on foreclosed properties. The USDA/Rural Housing Service proposal would amend single-family guaranteed loan regulations to streamline the claims payment process for lenders who have acquired title to property through voluntary liquidation or foreclosure. The proposal would require lenders to order a market-value appraisal 15 days after acquiring title and submit their claim within 45 days of receipt of the appraisal. RHS believes the proposal would eliminate the need for real estate-owned property-disposition plans, different loss claims calculations based on whether the property is sold or remains in the lender’s REO portfolio, and claims adjustments based on future ...

Certain potential changes could materially affect origination volume and determine the government-sponsored enterprises’ direction going forward, according to analysts. One of those changes could have a significant impact on the FHA market. Wells Fargo Securities analysts recently looked at three potential developments in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac sphere and evaluated their effects on the broader mortgage market. Two of those potential changes – loan limits and guarantee fees – are controlled directly by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, while the third relates to the temporary GSE qualified-mortgage exemption, or “QM patch,” which could affect the FHA market. All three factors loom over the mortgage landscape as the FHFA expects a new director in January 2019, who is likely to be more right leaning and could shift the focus back to shrinking the ...

Reporting on VA Loans Impacted by Natural Disaster. The Department of Veterans Affairs is cautioning servicers against reporting as delinquent VA loans that are impacted by a natural disaster. The electronic default notification (EDN) should only be reported prior to the 61st day of delinquency if the borrower intends to abandon the property or pursue an alternative to foreclosure, according to VA. Cite “property problems” as the reason for default, the agency added. On the 61st day of delinquency, servicers should use “casualty loss” as the reason for default when reporting the EDN. This will help VA identify loan defaults caused by a natural disaster. Texas USDA Guaranteed Housing Program See Increased Volume. The USDA guaranteed single-family guaranteed housing programs in the Lone Star State are experiencing significant volume increases, and consequently, ...

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, New Residential ranks fifth among all residential servicers with a $384.0 billion portfolio at Sept. 30.

Meanwhile, the group of servicers ranked sixth through 25th had a combined increase of $119.9 billion from June 30…

First Pacific is an institutional money management firm...

David Fleig of MorVest: “We have numerous active conversations with clients thinking about selling MSRs and I am sure our competitors do as well.”

The sale of mortgage servicing rights in the secondary market stayed red hot in the third quarter with a whopping $138.9 billion of agency product changing hands, but deal makers believe the market is in for a bit of a breather, at least for a little while.

All three of the banks that rank among the top five servicers in the residential mortgage market reported declines in their portfolios during the third quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. [Includes one data chart.]

Freddie said it expects to make the $2.6 billion dividend payment in December.