Quicken Loans said it will be evaluating whether it should continue participating in the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program after the federal government formally accused the lender of improperly originating and underwriting mortgages that cost the FHA losses in paid claims. The Detroit-based mortgage lender two weeks ago took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit against the government for alleged harassment in what it deemed a long-running fishing trip to drum up charges against the company. Last week, the empire struck back. The Department of Justice filed...
Republican leaders in the Senate and the House plan to press ahead with legislation to provide regulatory relief for mortgage lenders, especially for small community banks. It’s likely that provisions to automatically designate mortgages held in portfolio as qualified mortgages will be included in a legislative package the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will mark up sometime in the middle of May. And Republicans might use...
The Blackstone Group is on the hunt to buy mortgage companies, including both lenders and servicers, according to industry advisors and others who have been briefed on the company’s plans. Blackstone, without disclosure, recently purchased Gateway Funding in Horsham, PA, and is in negotiations to buy PMAC Lending Services, sources contend. It also is talking to a company that goes by the name of Pinnacle, though there are several firms with that name, and at press time it was unclear which one. Observers describe...
The share of non-homeowners that expect to purchase a home in the foreseeable future is down significantly compared with two years ago, according to a new poll by Gallup. However, a survey commissioned by JPMorgan Chase suggests that potential homebuyers are ready to “get off the sidelines” before interest rates increase. In April 2013, Gallup found that 31 percent of non-homeowners didn’t expect to purchase a home in the foreseeable future. In a survey conducted this month, the share of non-homeowners that don’t expect to buy a house in the foreseeable future increased to 41 percent. Art Swift, managing editor at Gallup, noted...
The new government-sponsored enterprise low-downpayment programs have met a mixed reaction among lenders. While some said they expect to see an uptick in mortgage activity, others noted the product accounts for just a small percentage of their firms’ business and won’t have much of an impact on origination volume. Fannie Mae’s low-downpayment program kicked off in December 2014, and Freddie Mac implemented its program in March 2015. So far, the volume of low-downpayment purchase loans in GSE business is relatively small. Fannie securitized...
It’s likely that provisions to automatically designate residential loans held in portfolio as qualified mortgages will be included in a legislative package...
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