Mortgage lenders may be suffering from compliance burnout these days after getting up to speed with major new rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But they would do well to start preparing now for the bureaus revolutionary integrated mortgage disclosure rule that aims to change the way consumers shop for such loans and how lenders go about originating them. The integration of the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act mortgage disclosures has been a goal almost since the time the two statutes were issued, and certainly from the time the good-faith estimate began focusing on loan terms, Benjamin Olson, counsel at BuckleySandler, said during a webinar sponsored this week by Inside Mortgage Finance. The new disclosures become mandatory Aug. 1, 2015. Joseph Kolar, a partner with BuckleySandler, pointed...
The Urban Institute said that new FHA loan limits may have a limited impact overall, but they could have dire consequences for some minority neighborhoods. The study found that the most affected metropolitan statistical areas had two things in common: they have a high share of FHA-insured loans, and their loan limits have dropped significantly. Of the 35 most affected MSAs, 13 are predominantly minority neighborhoods, all in California. Many of the most affected areas have...
Comments made Wednesday by the Treasury Departments point man on GSE reform, Michael Stegman, did not go unnoticed by employees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Hoping to jump start the non-agency MBS market, the Structured Finance Industry Group plans to establish a limited number of options on various rep and warrant issues.
In terms of market effect, a DocuTech executive said that because of the new CFPB rules, "credit is going to slow down for a little while, maybe a month or so."
The lender also recently formed a real estate investment trust, Parkside Mortgage Trust. Matt Ostrander, Parksides CEO, said the REIT plans to issue a non-agency MBS later this year or in 2015.
One servicing advisor told IMFnews that the regulator now has the last word on all MSR transfer approvals. It began in December and has slowed the process a bit.
The hunger for GSE speculation is also causing some investors to buy Fannie/Freddie common which has been rising of late, but not by much. However, one GSE watcher believes that buying the common, "is a fools game."
In other words, the White House still wants to dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and doesn't seem to care about all the money the two are returning to the government.