Fannie Mae may be having second thoughts about selling nonperforming loans into the secondary market where cash-rich investors are waiting with bated breath.
Nearly two months after it shut down a plan by Fannie Mae to lower the costs of so-called “force-placed” insurance, the Federal Housing Finance Agency this week unveiled for public comment a plan that would ban the payment of lucrative commissions and reinsurance fees to banks in return for their purchase of lender-placed insurance policies. Under the FHFA proposal, seller/servicers would be prohibited from accepting sales commissions or fees related to the placement of force-placed insurance where a conflict of interest exists between them and the insurance providers and their affiliates. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be affected by such costs where a servicer pays the higher premiums and is unable to recoup the cost from the homeowner or at a foreclosure sale. Consequently, explained the FHFA, the expense is passed along to the GSEs for reimbursement.
The top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, who is a vocal critic of the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is calling for a hearing to dissect recent reports by the FHFA’s official watchdog that the agency has been “inadequate” in its oversight of the GSEs. The committee’s Ranking Member, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-MD, formally requested Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-CA, to hold a hearing with FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco on the hot seat and FHFA Inspector General Steve Linick, to discuss a new IG audit detailing the agency’s inattention to mortgage servicing complaints. “Another week has brought another sorry report from the FHFA Inspector General finding that FHFA and the GSEs have failed to take seriously their obligations to protect consumers,” said Cummings.
Officials at Hope LoanPort are touting the capabilities of their web-based portal to help mortgage servicers get into full compliance with the servicing rules put out in February by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as help loan modifications proceed without interruption. When the CFPB’s mortgage servicing rules kick in Jan. 10, 2014, lenders will be required to “maintain policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to achieve the objectives of facilitating transfer of ...
Roughly 1.2 million U.S. homes were in some stage of foreclosure during February, a 21 decline from the same period in 2011, and that spells trouble for bottom feeders looking to buy real estate owned properties from banks and auction companies. According to interviews with investors, servicing executives and mortgage bankers, some buyers are turning to the nonperforming loan market as a “back door” way to buy properties. “Investors that are buying NPLs in this fashion are looking to foreclose so they ...
The Internal Revenue Service issued an opinion this month stating that real estate owned costs do not need to be capitalized. Lawyers at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick said IRS memorandum AM2013-001 appears to reverse an IRS opinion issued last year which stated that costs associated with REOs must be capitalized. “Historically, many banks have deducted expenses associated with other REO property currently rather than capitalizing them,” Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick said. However, in the last few years ...
The launch of the revised CFPB database expands the bureau's consumer complaint apparatus in a major way. It includes a sub-category for many products, including mortgages.
Is Navy Federal's no-downpayment product safe? It believes so, and is quite happy with the delinquency experience on the loan but won't provide specifics.
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