A property management contractor for the Department of Housing and Urban Development has agreed to pay $4.3 million to resolve allegations that it billed the agency for FHA-related work it did not perform in violation of the federal False Claims Act. Cityside Management Corp. of Manchester, NH, allegedly failed to inspect the work of third-party vendors that it hired to perform termite inspections, treatments and repairs on repossessed houses in HUD’s real estate-owned inventory, as required by its contract with HUD. HUD’s inspector general investigated the case and referred it to the Department of Justice. Following the financial crisis, HUD held title to a large number of foreclosed homes acquired by borrowers with FHA financing. HUD contracted with various field service managers, including Cityside, to prepare the REO properties for resale. According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the ...
The secondary market in mortgage servicing rights heated up during the second quarter of 2017, fueling further growth by nonbanks in the servicing business. An estimated $133.36 billion of MSR changed hands during the second quarter, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends, an affiliated newsletter. That was up 21.5 percent from the first three months of the year, and brought total MSR transfers to $243.14 billion at the midway point of 2017, up 53.6 percent from a year ago. Most of the activity has been...[Includes three data tables]
Firms that sell mortgage servicing rights for a living are conducting more privately negotiated transactions these days, reserving the auction process for smaller deals, according to interviews with industry dealmakers. “We’ve seen a good amount of these lately,” said Steve Harris, managing director of MIAC Capital Markets, New York. “Word gets out who the buyers are; the sellers find out and they decide to do a privately negotiated deal. And there are companies out there with substantial portfolios [that are available for sale].” One selling firm that reportedly went the private route after trying an auction is...
Mortgage-investing real estate investment trusts are having a field day this year, selling additional common stock – and even preferred – to the public, while nonbank lender/servicers continue to be locked out of the market. And given the fact that origination volumes could wind up 20 percent lower this year than in 2016, it’s unlikely that investors will give nonbanks much of a chance unless they can prove themselves as “disruptors” with a “fintech” bent to their operating strategy. But that isn’t...
Ocwen originated $699.6 million in the second quarter, with a near doubling of retail originations unable to fully offset the wind-down in correspondent production…
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