With the formal transition of presidential power now a mere week away, Congressional Republicans and Democrats alike were busy this week reordering the teams that will take the field for the 115th Congress. Mortgage lenders are hopeful for at least some degree of regulatory relief from the Republican-controlled Congress and White House, but Democrats are vowing to defend the Dodd-Frank Act, one of the signature achievements of the outgoing Obama administration. Republicans in the House of Representatives got...

Some borrowers are obtaining mortgages for investment properties and occupying the home as a primary residence instead of renting out the home, according to industry analysts. Such “reverse-occupancy fraud” is especially prevalent among first-time homebuyers who might not otherwise qualify for a mortgage. Borrowers completing reverse-occupancy fraud aim to qualify for a mortgage with help from the theoretical rental income from the so-called investment property. Mortgages for a business purpose – typically including mortgages for investment properties – aren’t subject to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule, allowing lenders to use looser underwriting standards. Fannie Mae issued...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency says it will finalize new plans for examining how well Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac manage the risks of mortgage servicing transfers this month. The agency has been under scrutiny by its Inspector General for failing to push the two government-sponsored enterprises to manage risks posed by nonbank servicers. In a new report, the IG said the FHFA has not fully made sure that both GSEs are following the three advisory bulletins it has issued that address nonbank servicer risks, among other things. The report is heavily redacted, making it difficult to determine where FHFA examiners have failed, but it appears that there have been shortcomings for one of the GSEs. The three advisory bulletins address...

CPR&T predicted that the asset value of Ocwen’s mortgage servicing portfolio likely won’t benefit much from the recent spike in interest rates…

Bose George, who follows PHH for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, also used the phrase “liquidation” to describe the company’s sale of assets.

Oddly enough, the nonprime space showed some signs of life last year and hopes are high for 2017 as well…

Borrowers completing reverse-occupancy fraud aim to qualify for a mortgage with help from the theoretical rental income from the so-called investment property…

Cordray, of course, could just nip this in the bud right now, resign and start his run for governor of Ohio…

In addition to crowdfunded hard-money loans, Zeus offers traditional forward and reverse mortgages.

In 2016, Caliber issued three non-agency MBS deals that included prime-quality and jumbo loans, often made to borrowers described in ratings’ reports as consumers with “unblemished” credit.