One lobbyist told Inside Mortgage Finance this week he believes that Watt eventually will strike a deal on the issue with Treasury, but he was uncertain how it might play out.
The proposed $4.3 billion merger of single-family rental operators Invitation Homes and Starwood Waypoint Homes will create a corporate landlord with 82,000 homes – and a behemoth of a potential client for Fannie Mae and possibly Freddie Mac. Earlier this year, Fannie agreed to provide Invitation Homes with $1 billion in financing. The deal broke new ground for the government-sponsored enterprise, but it also raised questions about whether a government-owned entity that received billions in taxpayer assistance should be lending money to a company (Invitation Homes) grubstaked by Wall Street. Since the Invitation-Fannie arrangement was unveiled, no other significant SFR financing vehicles involving a GSE has...
According to our calculation, Fannie common now trades at $2.80, a 20.17 percent improvement since the close of 2Q17, while Freddie’s value rose 21.08 percent to $2.70.
Simplifying and aligning the default servicing policies of the conventional conforming and the government-backed mortgage markets would better serve the mortgage industry and homeowners, according to industry experts. In a recent discussion on how regulatory burden and high servicing costs might impede lending, members of the Mortgage Servicing Collaborative agreed on the need for streamlined and harmonized federal, state and agency policies and rules on servicing. Increased regulatory requirements have caused mortgage-servicing costs to skyrocket in recent years, experts said. Even though the quality of servicing has improved, the new regulations are complex and costly, they noted. Multiple pressures placed upon servicers have suppressed mortgage lending, making it harder for borrowers with tainted credit to obtain a mortgage, according to the ...