Laurie Goodman, director of the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center, is among those who support Treasury’s push to include a deal agent in the benchmark non-agency MBS.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule was an “over correction” in terms of income documentation standards, according to Peter Carroll, executive vice president for mortgage policy and counterparty relations at Quicken Loans. At a talk this week hosted by the Financial Services Roundtable and CoreLogic, Carroll said the ATR rule has limited Quicken’s originations of mortgages for borrowers who have significant income that’s accounted for outside of ...
LendingHome announced this week that it has originated more than $100 million in loans since launching a year ago, focusing on flexible financing options for investors with a wide range of credit characteristics. The firm is a marketplace lender, connecting borrowers with investors. To this point, LendingHome has focused its originations on bridge loans and loans for investor properties. Officials at the lender said LendingHome plans to offer nonconforming mortgages this year with ...
A recent $36 million settlement agreement between Golden First Mortgage Corp. and the federal government is raising questions about the lender’s ability to pay. The Department of Justice apparently has a plan to collect from a company that is no longer in business and hardly generated enough revenue to pay the full settlement amount. Whatever that plan is, the agency is not disclosing it. Based in upstate New York, Golden First agreed to pay up to resolve allegations that it ...
First-time homebuyers and specialized loan products helped propel Navy Federal Credit Union’s mortgage originations over the $1 billion mark in March, the best month in the credit union’s 82-year history. Year-to-date, Navy Federal has made more than $2.5 billion in mortgages to members, which now include active-duty, retired and reserve personnel of all the armed services, as well as Department of Defense civilian employees and defense contractors. In March 2013, Navy Federal expanded its ...
The FHA is looking at non-traditional factors in credit scoring that might be considered in determining a borrower’s creditworthiness. In remarks during a credit-access symposium co-hosted by the National Association of Realtors and other industry groups, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said the FHA is looking at various alternative credit-scoring models that might help increase homeownership opportunities for more people ...
The FHA is urging 203(k) program lenders and consultants to be aware of key policy revisions when reviewing the published versions of the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program and 203(k) Consultant Requirements in the new Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook. The revised policies include changes to reflect a clearer, more direct and consistent language and terminology. However, they do not represent a significant departure from 203(k) origination policies or ...
1st Alliance Lending of East Hartford, CT, has announced a new multi-channel lending platform to help underwater homeowners refinance into affordable government-backed mortgages and help those who have lost their homes previously in bankruptcy obtain a new mortgage. The platform focuses mainly on the FHA Short Refi program and the agency’s “Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances” program. The multi-channel platform adds a wholesale channel to ...
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau brought an enforcement action against RMK Financial Corp., an FHA/VA lender based in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, for allegedly using deceptive mortgage advertising practices, including the use of ads that led consumers to believe that the company was affiliated with the U.S. government. The bureau alleged that RMK, also known as Majestic Home Loans, used the names and logos of the Department of Veterans Affairs and ...