VA Clarifies HUD-1 Itemization Requirements. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Home Loan Guaranty office has issued guidance clarifying HUD-1 documentation and itemization requirements. The HUD-1 is a statement lenders furnish to borrowers at closing showing the actual settlement costs, including amounts paid to and by the settlement agent. The guidance clarifies and establishes VA policy regarding the following: itemization of lender/seller credits in the 200 series of the HUD-1; itemization of line 801 on the HUD-1; clarification that credits reflected on line 803 of the HUD-1 cannot offset allowable fees’ and itemization of line 802 on the HUD-1. Ginnie Mae Announces Update to Securitization of USDA Section 538 Multifamily Loans. Ginnie Mae has enhanced the securitization of rural, multifamily housing loans with a Department of Agriculture guaranty to make affordable housing available to ...

Mortgage lenders originated an estimated $360.0 billion of first-lien home loans during the first three months of 2015, lifting the market to its strongest quarterly volume since the third quarter of 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The first-quarter total originations estimate does not include home-equity lending, which many lenders consider a separate business from traditional mortgage lending. In the past, Inside Mortgage Finance included home-equity in total originations, and those market estimates are not being revised. In 2014, about 5.7 percent of total originations ($71.0 billion) were home-equity loans. A number of survey participants have reported...[Includes two data charts]

In the first quarter, the top sequential gainers were all nonbanks: loanDepot (up 50.6 percent), Caliber Home Loans (46.2 percent) and Stearns Lending (22.6 percent.)

Freddie Mac securitized just $12 million of purchase mortgages with loan-to-value ratios of 96 percent or 97 percent during the first quarter.

The number of branch licenses for mortgage originators increased by 12 percent to 43,381.

Few in the industry believe Quicken will actually bolt the FHA program, noting that similar saber-rattling was done by JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon last year...

With the second quarter in full swing, several advisory firms are actively offering packages, including Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Phoenix Capital and The Prestwick Group.

But not to worry: the FHFA said the projections were mandated under the Dodd-Frank Act, cautioning that its estimate is just that, and not an expected outcome….

Mortgage brokers accounted for almost 13 percent of originations packaged into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities in the first quarter of 2015, one of the highest readings in quite some time, according to loan-level data compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance. In the fourth quarter, the broker market share was 10.0 percent, a figure that includes originations of all loan types and not just ones packaged into securities. Over the past several quarters, there has been...

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...