Two of the most active lenders in the “fix & flip” market – Finance of America Commercial and CALCAP – are coming off record years and are expanding their efforts by launching brokerage initiatives that could increase their volumes even more. “Why now?” asked Mark Filler, CEO of Finance of America Commercial. “We’re at the point where we have better pricing, better products and the market is strong.” In 2016, FOAC – known as Jordan Capital when it was acquired by nonbank mortgage giant Finance of America a few months ago – originated...
The trade group first launched its GSE task force in late 2012 with 17 initial executive members, including Bob Ryan, a Wells Fargo executive who is now the acting deputy director of the division of conservatorship at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The outstanding supply of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae servicing continued to grow during the first quarter of 2017 despite a downturn in new mortgage-backed securities issuance by the three agencies, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside Mortgage Finance. A total of $6.225 trillion of agency single-family MBS was outstanding at the end of March, up 1.4 percent from December 2016. That number does not include agency servicing of whole loans held on the books of Fannie and Freddie, or a smattering of adjustable-rate mortgages in seasoned Freddie securities. Freddie posted...[Includes two data tables]
Based on mortgage results reported thus far, the first quarter was a nasty time for new originations for both the megabanks and some of the regionals, with non-depositories reporting slightly more benign production figures. Market leader Wells Fargo posted a hefty 38.9 percent one-quarter drop in mortgage originations. Second-ranked JPMorgan Chase reported a slightly less severe 23.0 percent drop in home loan funding. Citigroup, which a few months back made a strategic decision to deemphasize its role in home lending, suffered a 32.1 percent drop. Then there’s...
Most of the provisions of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act final rule the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau promulgated back in 2015 won’t take effect until January 2018, and already the agency is proposing a host of clarifications, technical corrections and minor changes with the stated goal of fostering lender compliance. Among the suggested alterations to the CFPB’s proposed rule, issued last week, is the clarification of certain key terms, such as “temporary financing” and “automated underwriting system.” The proposal also would establish...
The problem with the perceived appraiser shortage is not whether VA has enough appraisers but whether there are enough of them in areas where appraisal demands are greater, according to a ranking member of the VA Fee Panel of the Department of Veterans Affairs. As of April 8, 2017, the Fee Panel had 5,006 licensed and certified appraisers working in the eight regional loan centers (RLC) that administer the VA Home Loan Guaranty program, said Kevin Eason, valuation officer with the Denver RLC. Last year, 553 new appraisers were appointed to the panel, whose members accept VA appraisal assignments on a rotating basis. Speaking last week at the annual VA Lenders Conference in Kansas City, MO, Eason noted...
Many borrowers could have seen significant savings on the interest rate on a mortgage if they shopped around, according to a working paper published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Office of Research. The bureau economists noted that close to half of consumers didn’t shop before taking out a mortgage, based on the National Survey of Mortgage Originations, a representative survey conducted by the CFPB and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. And only 16.0 percent of borrowers considered three or more lenders before obtaining a mortgage. The economists said...
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