Activity in the Home Affordable Refinance Program in the second quarter of 2015 was down 0.3 percent from the first three months of the year, according to new loan-count figures released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Fannie Mae had a slight increase in HARP activity and accounted for 59.3 percent of the total for the two government-sponsored enterprises. Freddie Mac volume was down 1.5 percent from the first quarter. HARP volume represented...[Includes one data table]
Wells Fargo this week said it would reinstate certain credit overlays on its FHA business segment after expressing frustration over FHA’s republished proposal on loan-level certification. The lender, which ranked second on Inside FHA/VA Lending’s top FHA lenders for the first six months of 2015, reiterated the need for clearer rules in order to originate FHA-insured loans without fear of litigation or enforcement action. The bank said it is very disappointed with FHA’s revised certification proposal, which was republished in the Sept. 1 Federal Register. “In spite of much input to FHA from various consumer groups and lenders over a long period of time, [the] proposal falls short of what is needed,” said Mike Heid, head of Wells Fargo Home Lending. “As a result, this will now force us to add back certain credit overlays on the FHA single-family program.” Other FHA lenders could follow Wells Fargo’s lead as some did when ...
An FHA proposal to establish a deadline for filing insurance claims and revise existing policies that allow punitive penalties for missing FHA foreclosure deadlines could have a chilling effect on FHA lending and servicing, analysts warned. Housing policy analysts and industry attorneys say the two-part proposal issued on July 6 raises red flags for both borrowers and servicers and could potentially cause lenders to leave the FHA single-family mortgage insurance program. The Urban Institute describes the proposed rule as “a mixed bag, but on balance far more negative than positive.” “It represents a modest improvement to very harsh rules for missing established deadlines but imposes an unrealistic timeline for filing FHA insurance claims and an overly punitive penalty for missing that timeline,” the group said. Attorneys at K&L Gates in Washington, DC, are more ominous in their assessment of the ...
The FHA is developing standards that would allow FHA financing on homes with existing Property Assessed Clean Energy liens going forward. Specifically, the guidance would require subordination of PACE financing to first-lien FHA mortgages. The FHA is also working on a monitoring mechanism to track the number of PACE loans with FHA insurance in the future, said a HUD spokesman. Mortgage market analysts say FHA’s action could lead to broader adoption of the PACE program for FHA-insured single-family homes. The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a statement, applauded the move. “This modification should allow some homeowners to install energy improvements in their home but not impede the rights of the first lien, something the original PACE program failed to consider,” said David Stevens, MBA president and CEO. PACE programs allow local governments to raise bond-funded financing to ...
Another Cut in FHA Premiums Coming This Winter? Will the FHA take the bold step of cutting annual mortgage insurance premiums this winter? It’s an intriguing question posed by Capital Alpha Partners. The research firm, in a new report, quotes what it calls a “reliable FHA bull” who “presciently foresaw” the last premium cut. Alpha cautions that its source on the matter is not betting on such a move, but raises the possibility “that the tumblers could fall into place once again.” One possible catalyst for an MIP cut would be poor results from a forthcoming Home Mortgage Disclosure Act report that shows FHA as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not serving low-income borrowers very well. In January 2015, FHA implemented a half-percent reduction in annual mortgage insurance premiums. At the time, the Department of Housing and Urban Development predicted that 250,000 new homeowners would ...
Over the past year, small and medium-sized lenders have dominated the activity in the merger and acquisitions market, but all that could be changing as consolidation fever begins to gather steam and larger, struggling players consider a take-out strategy. Also, the recent announcement that the Blackstone Group would buy a majority stake in Stearns Lending – the nation’s 12th largest originator – has sparked hopes among investment bankers that potential sellers are finally lowering their expectations when it comes to price. An offering book on Stearns had been circulating for at least a year. Meanwhile, analysts who follow Stonegate Mortgage, which ranks 25th among originators, this week suggested...
Lawsuits filed by the city of Miami against Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo were revived by an appeals court this week. The fair housing lawsuits allege a decade-long pattern of discriminatory lending that caused the city economic harm. The lawsuits were filed in December 2013. Miami claimed that predatory lending by the banks caused minority-owned properties in the city to fall into unnecessary or premature foreclosure, which deprived Miami of tax revenue and forced the city to spend more on municipal services to combat blight. The city made claims under the Fair Housing Act and state law. The city backed up...
A U.S. District Court ruled in favor of PNC Bank last week in a lawsuit involving the Home Affordable Modification Program. The plaintiff in the case was seeking class-action status, and other courts have allowed such claims to move forward. The ruling in favor of PNC was a “major victory,” according to the law firm of BuckleySandler, which represented the servicer in the case. Virginia McGann filed...
A recent order from the Federal Communications Commission may force mortgage servicers to use clunky old rotary phones to reach out to distressed borrowers facing foreclosure, according to the Consumer Mortgage Coalition. The FCC’s order, released June 18, 2015, attempts to strengthen consumer protections against unwanted telephone calls and texts by, in part, restricting the ability of mortgage servicers, debt collectors and others to make autodialed or prerecorded phone calls without prior express consent of the person called. Violators face...
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