Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages have served borrowers relatively well, but there are issues that could be addressed by an alternative product, according to new research from staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. “Ideally, an alternate mortgage instrument would alleviate the downpayment constraint associated with the transition to homeownership, eliminate any scope for discrimination in mortgage qualification or pricing and allow ...

Production of mortgages with a VA guaranty grew a hefty 17.9 percent in the fourth quarter, providing an emphatic ending to a record year of VA purchase-loan originations, according to Inside FHA/VA Lending’s analysis of agency data. Total VA volume for the entire year was $112.0 billion in purchase and refinance loans. VA streamlined refinancings accounted for 22.4 percent of overall VA originations for 2014. Production for the full year, however, was down 13.8 percent compared to the same period in 2013. Lenders attributed the increased VA market share to the younger generation of soldiers and sailors engaged in foreign wars as well as veterans returning from the war front. Last year, 18 percent of VA loans were made to active-duty service members and 82 percent were loans to veterans, said Mike Frueh, director of the VA Home Loan guaranty program. “There is a lot more ... [1 chart]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Housing Service has proposed to revise regulations for the single-family housing guaranteed loan program pertaining to qualified-mortgage (QM) requirements, refinancing, principal reduction and lender indemnification. The deadline for comments is May 4, 2015.The RHS is proposing to amend its regulations to indicate that a loan with an RHS guarantee is a qualified mortgage if it meets certain requirements set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB published a QM rule, which became effective on Jan. 10, 2014. Among other things, the rule requires creditors to make a reasonable, good faith determination of a borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage loan. In addition, the rule establishes a safe harbor from liability for transactions that meet the QM requirements or, in certain cases, a rebuttable presumption of ...

Consumer advocates and attorneys are urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development to delay the implementation of a new policy that purports to provide relief to surviving spouses of reverse-mortgage borrowers and to find solutions that are more effective. The group said the policy HUD announced in Mortgagee Letter 2015-03 on Jan. 29 is so restrictive that virtually all surviving non-borrowing spouses will get no relief. A letter to the agency, drafted by the National Consumer Law Center and signed by the Consumers Union, California Reinvestment Coalition, National Housing Law Project, Housing and Economic Rights Advocates and Institute on Aging denounced the new policy. They said most surviving spouses of deceased borrowers of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage loans will not be able to meet the policy’s stringent guidelines and will ...

Private mortgage insurance is generally a better deal than FHA for mortgages with 90 percent or higher loan-to-value ratios, according to a new report from WalletHub, a web-based organization that monitors a variety of financial services. The report also found little variation in pricing in the private MI market based on monthly premiums charged by Genworth Mortgage Insurance Co., Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Radian Guaranty and Essent Guaranty. Of the four MIs in the study, Essent charged the highest premiums for loans with a 620-679 credit score. For all other FICO scores, the MIs charged uniform premium rates. For 97 percent LTV mortgages with a 620-679 credit score, FHA charged a cheaper monthly premium rate compared to private MIs. For 95 percent LTV and 90 percent LTV loans, the FHA charged monthly payments of $218.29 and $206.80, respectively, compared to ...

Although much of the discussion about nonbank servicing standards has focused on capital, the CSBS framework will cover considerably more ground than that.

In the wake of a recent Supreme Court of the United States decision allowing loan officers to receive overtime pay, mortgage company owners are already laying down the law: no OT for LOs unless management approves the extra time first. The freshly decided case is causing lenders to distinguish between “inside” and “outside” salesforces. According to early interpretations of the decision, loan officers who work in a branch more than half their time are ...

More than a year after standards for qualified mortgages took effect, a number of lenders are willing to offer non-QMs, but production has been concentrated on affluent borrowers. Lenders seem less willing to offer non-QMs to borrowers with lower credit scores or higher loan-to-value ratios. For the past year, Nationstar Mortgage has been working toward offering a non-QM refinance product. The loan would target non-agency borrowers in the nonbank’s large servicing ...

Real estate agents have a positive outlook for the spring homebuying season, especially first-time homebuyers, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Tom Popik, research director of Campbell Surveys, said homebuyer traffic was higher than expected during the winter and demand from first-time buyers is expected to be strong in the coming months. “Rising interest rates may stimulate the market as homebuyers ...

In total, 16 groups signed the letter, including the American Bankers Association, the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, and the National Association of Realtors...