Five Oaks will allow for cash-out refis for loans with balances of up to $1 million. The maximum allowable loan-to-value ratio is 65 percent, but the company may eventually go to 70 percent.

In trading, Walter was down almost 5 percent on the day. The stock fell to just under $28. Its 52-week low is $24, its high $45.12.

One Stonegate Mortgage watcher we know called the company an “absolute no-brainer short,” noting that when the lender went public “it was overvalued."

PHH Corp. is continuing talks with several potential buyers about its mortgage division but is revealing little information on when it might ultimately announce a deal. In a recent conference call with analysts, company President and CEO Glen Messina would only say that “we’ve been actively engaged in detailed discussions with several interested parties” regarding both PHH Mortgage and its fleet business. Messina would not provide any more color than that. As reported by Inside Mortgage Finance last month, possible buyers include...

Real estate agents are more likely to recommend lenders that provide reliable preapprovals to potential homebuyers, according to a survey conducted by Campbell Surveys and sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance. Positive interactions with real estate agents could help lenders boost business as the market has shifted toward purchase mortgages from refinances. “Real estate agents frequently recommend mortgage providers, and homebuyers frequently accept these recommendations,” said Tom Popik, research director of Campbell Surveys. The new survey of more than 2,000 real estate agents found...

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray has repeatedly told mortgage lenders that there are plenty of good loans to be made outside the confines of the qualified mortgage. Increasingly, it looks like market dynamics are backing him up. During a webinar last week hosted by Inside Mortgage Finance, Larry Platt, a partner with the K&L Gates law firm, noted that some lenders are looking outside the QM box to bolster loan origination volume that has plummeted. “The volume is down, and we’ve moved into a purchase-money market,” he observed. Also, there’s...

Richard Smith, chief marketing officer for Ditech, said the mortgages that the company originates will close in Ditech’s name, not in the name of Green Tree.

If the CFPB is able to turn an enforcement action into a settlement, it’s far less likely to be challenged in court, the professor said.

“I think Nationstar is going through the pain and agony of the production decline,” said one advisor familiar with the company.

In case you didn’t notice, the price of Fannie and Freddie common rose about 5 percent Tuesday, after Watt spoke. In trading Wednesday, they were up again...