Most voters are not happy with housing and mortgage access and favor more government intervention, according to a national housing poll of 1000 likely voters released last week by Investors Unite. More than half of those familiar with Fannie Mae Freddie Mac, 55 percent, had a favorable view of the mortgage giants. The survey was done in late June by Douglas Schoen, founder of Schoen Consulting,a pollster and democratic campaign consultant. It included views on homeownership, housing policies and the GSEs. He said the desire for policy change is “widespread and urgent.”
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking to prevent GSE shareholder and director of Investors Unite, Tim Pagliara, from inspecting the corporate records of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Pagliara filed a lawsuit in state courts in March hoping to gain access, as an individual stockholder, to the GSEs’ records to determine the circumstances surrounding the sweep. Fannie, incorporated in Delaware, and Freddie, incorporated in Virginia, both denied his request to review the records earlier this year. Pagliara then argued that his rights as a shareholder were denied for “no legitimate basis.” This week, the FHFA filed a motion to substitute itself for Pagliara and remove...
Ginnie Mae edged past Freddie Mac in servicing outstanding on single-family mortgages tied to mortgage-backed securities during the second quarter of 2016, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. MBS disclosure reports show the supply of Ginnie mortgage servicing rights grew 2.1 percent during the second quarter, climbing to $1.576 trillion, excluding multifamily and reverse mortgage MBS. The supply of Freddie single-family servicing edged up just 0.4 percent from March, reaching $1.558 trillion and slipping to third in the agency MSR market. Fannie Mae single-family MSR servicing declined...[Includes two data tables]
While some banks have reduced their FHA lending in recent years and alternatives from the government-sponsored enterprises are still gaining traction, homebuyers still have access to low-downpayment mortgage programs, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. “Most real estate agents say high loan-to-value ratio mortgages are readily available, especially for homebuyers with good credit,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. The HousingPulse survey covering activity in June included...
A recent ruling by the Washington State Supreme Court goes against servicers’ practice of changing the lock on a property before a foreclosure. While such practices are generally allowed under mortgage contracts and have been approved by other states, the Washington state court ruling is favorable to 3,600 borrowers in a class-action lawsuit and could cause further issues for servicers. Laura Jordan v. Nationstar Mortgage centered on Nationstar’s actions after the borrower defaulted on her mortgage. A vendor acting on behalf of Nationstar inspected the property, deemed it to be vacant and changed the lock on the front door. The vendor also left a lockbox on the door with the key to the new lock and the borrower was provided access to the key. Jordan represents...
“[The GSEs’] corrupt business model lets shareholders and executives reap huge profits while the taxpayers cover all losses,” according to the Republican platform.
The bill would expand flood insurance options by including private flood insurance and require the GSEs to accept any private flood insurance company a borrower chooses, as long as the company is financially sound.
The non-agency MBS market shriveled up and nearly blew away in the second quarter of 2016 as new issuance totaled only $6.96 billion, according to an Inside MBS & ABS analysis. New production tumbled 17.0 percent from the first quarter of the year, which failed to top the $10 billion mark in issuance. The second-quarter total was the lowest output since the end of 2013, when just $6.11 billion of new non-agency MBS was produced. While there was a stiff decline in re-securitization activity from the first quarter, scratch-and-dent securitizations of nonperforming, re-performing and other dinged-up assets increased...[Includes two data tables]