While new regulations have been costly for servicers to implement, they have helped improve borrower satisfaction, according to J.D. Powers latest primary servicer satisfaction study. The fact that satisfaction continues to increase seems to indicate that changes being made in response to these new regulations are having a positive impact on the experience of customers, said Craig Martin, director of investment services at J.D. Power. He cited regulations from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ...
Negative home equity is not an important barrier for a homeowner to decide to move elsewhere for a better job, although underwater homeowners are probably more likely to move than borrowers with equity in their homes, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The study presents evidence debunking the theory that homes with underwater mortgages deter unemployed people from moving to get new jobs. The lock-in theory holds that unemployed people with negative equity could ...
Wells Fargo increased its residential servicing portfolio by a meager 2 percent in the second quarter but marked up the asset value of its mortgage servicing rights by a mouth-watering 18 percent, a clear sign that it feels comfortable about both improving delinquencies and higher interest rates. The nations largest lender/servicer was hardly alone among the nations megabanks, all of which reported higher market values on MSR remaining principal balances that were mostly unchanged. Bank of America reported...