Just how brutal will this mortgage correction be? One thing's for certain: loan officers with close ties to Realtors and builders will be golden.

Lenders must correct erroneous disclosures concerning mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) before submitting loans for FHA insurance, according to new FHA guidance. In an update to Mortgagee Letter 2013-04, FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said some mortgages originated since the termination of the MIP cancellation policy earlier this year still contain incorrect MIP-related disclosures. Under the revised policy, MIPs are no longer cancellable when the current loan-to-value ratio reaches 78 percent. Rather, MIP payments must be made over the entire life of the FHA-insured loan. The change is aimed at increasing ...

Lenders must consider debt disputes, collection accounts and judgments in analyzing a borrower’s credit worthiness because they are indicators of the borrower’s ability and willingness to meet his or her credit obligations, according to the FHA. In recently issued guidance, the FHA said lenders should analyze all collections and judgments, past and present, because they may indicate a borrower’s disregard for credit obligations. Such analysis helps decide whether a loan should be approved for FHA insurance, the agency said. The FHA amended its guidance on collections and disputed accounts in Mortgagee Letter 2013-24, and further clarified ...

It was the biggest volume of new lending above the conforming loan limit since the second quarter of 2007 – before “emergency” conforming loan limits were authorized by Congress.

Sales-to-list price ratios on non-distressed properties increased for the seventh consecutive month in July to 98 percent, according to new research from the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.

A spokesman for Wells Fargo told Inside Mortgage Finance that “most of the displacements were on the fulfillment/processing side” of the business and did not include loan officers.

When LoanDepot and imortgage.com merge don't expect any layoffs to occur. Meanwhile, speculators are shorting PHH's stock.

Significant opposition to lowering the GSE loan limits will come from Realtors, home builders and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

As feared by the residential finance industry, an increase in upfront mortgage insurance premiums is hurting participation in the FHA program by first-time buyers.

The CFPB, HUD and the Department of Justice have all gone on record asserting that disparate impact claims are viable under the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.