A pilot effort by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is underway in New York City and Miami to track suspicious “all cash” purchases of high-end residential properties as part of the government’s anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement. In remarks during a recent AML conference in Florida, FinCEN Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery said geographic targeting orders (GTOs) were issued by the agency in January this year and went into effect on March 1. They require identification of high-end cash buyers to ensure luxury residences purchased with cash are not masking money laundering activities. Specifically, U.S. title insurance companies are temporarily required...

Borrowers saddled with student loan debt now have a better chance of qualifying for an FHA mortgage, thanks to a recent change in the way lenders factor such payments in the calculation of a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio. Under newly revised guidance announced by the FHA recently, lenders may apply the same calculation criteria used in the mortgage industry regardless of the type of student loan-payment plan (such as income-based payment plans) or a deferred-payment plan. Currently, there are...

Nonbanks serviced $2.085 trillion of agency MBS at the end of March, a 2.9 percent increase from the fourth quarter.

Wells Fargo was the top seller to the GSEs in the first quarter with $22.75 billion, followed by Quicken Loans ($11.33 billion) and JPMorgan Chase ($6.87 billion).

It’s expected that Blackstone/Finance of America will target borrowers who are self-employed and have a harder time qualifying for conventional mortgages.

Investors take note: The collateral has a current interest rate of 8.15 percent.

To date, Mid America has bought roughly $115 million worth of product with TRID errors...

Wells Fargo was the subject of more mortgage complaints than any other player in the sector. Then again, Wells is both the largest lender and servicer.

Would you lend money to your relatives? One mortgage firm has made it a business model...