The subject of cutting FHA premiums sucked up most of the oxygen in the room when President Barack Obama spoke about housing issues last week in Phoenix. However, the president also discussed the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; he and the White House reiterated some core principles for GSE reform the president would like to see taken up in the 114th Congress. Although it is still early, the initial indications of interest from lawmakers were less than inspiring. “The president continues to strongly support long-term housing finance reform through legislation that requires private capital to take the risks and rewards in mortgage lending while preserving broad and affordable access for all creditworthy families,” the White House said in ...
Fannie Mae is looking to improve the efficiencies and systems that drive its “As Soon As Pooled” program, the secondary market giant confirmed to Inside The GSEs. A spokesman for Fannie said no major changes are planned, especially regarding eligibility requirements, which is good news for the small to medium-sized lenders that use it. “ASAP is something we have been looking at,” he said. “The focus is on how we can make it better. But I can’t offer you any timetables.” ASAP is essentially an early delivery program. It allows lenders to fund loans closer to origination – up to 60 days before they are delivered to Fannie.For nonbank lenders that use warehouse lines of credit, the cost savings can ...
Appraisers and real estate agents are anxiously eyeing Jan. 26, the day Fannie Mae rolls out its “dreaded” Collateral Underwriter system, an automated risk assessment of appraisals that returns a risk score, flags and messages to the submitting lender. Reports that CU will drive up appraisal costs and slow closings are spreading fear among appraisers and real estate agents despite Fannie’s assurances to the contrary. With CU, lenders can return and challenge appraisals and demand changes to avoid any potential repurchase demand, according to a Connecticut-based residential mortgage specialist, who requested anonymity. “CU will provide up to 20 comparables, and appraisers will have to defend the comps that they use,” she explained. “You’re looking at adding a week or two ...
Although the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s interim final rule is about prohibiting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from passing on the cost of Housing Trust Fund allocations to lenders, critics used the comment period to lambast the FHFA for allowing the allocations in the first place. “I don’t believe a company that is 100 percent shareholder-owned should give money to a charity before paying shareholders a dividend,” said Joe Johnson, affiliation undisclosed. “If Fannie and Freddie were released from conservatorship and were able to keep their own profits, then it would be fine to use them to fund the affordable housing fund.” Chris Roberts, affiliation also unknown, believes the FHFA’s action is a clear violation of the mandate to place ...
FNMA SVC-2015-01. Jan. 14, 2015. Fannie announced it has incorporated updates on compensatory fees and the MyCity program into its servicing guide. FNMA SVC-2015-02. Jan. 14, 2015. Fannie amended policies related to deferred payment obligations and repurchase prices or make-whole payments, as well as calculation of indemnification claims for loss of mortgage insurance benefits. The new requirements relate to non-bifurcated mortgages and insurer deferred payment obligations. For loans subject to a repurchase demand or make-whole payment for breach of selling reps and warranties, the servicer must remit the full amount, the notice makes clear. ...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitized $46.91 billion of home loans with private mortgage insurance during the fourth quarter of 2014, down 1.9 percent from the previous quarter, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis. The drop in private MI volume nearly mirrored the 2.1 percent decline in overall mortgage-backed securities production by the two government-sponsored enterprises over the same period. For all of 2014, the volume of private MI loans included in Fannie/Freddie MBS was down 22.5 percent, while total GSE securitization tumbled 45.4 percent from 2013. While MI-insured purchase mortgages declined by 7.0 percent from the third quarter, securitization of refinance loans with private MI jumped...[Includes two data charts]
Almost half of the people buying a home these days do not shop around for their mortgages, according to a report issued this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. So to help remedy that, the bureau rolled out an online rate-checker tool – something that immediately set off a firestorm of opposition from mortgage brokers and originators. Rate Checker, part of a broader CFPB initiative called Owning a Home, is intended to help consumers understand what interest rates may be available to them, said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “It incorporates information from lenders’ internal rate sheets, information they use to calculate what interest rate is available for a particular consumer. In other words, we are giving consumers direct access to the same type of information that the lenders themselves have. “By plugging in their credit score, their location and information about the loan they are seeking, they can see...
Buybacks and indemnifications by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sellers fell sharply during the third quarter of 2014, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Trends, an affiliated newsletter. The two government-sponsored enterprises reported a total of just $543.1 million of repurchases and indemnifications of securitized mortgages in disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was down a whopping 68.7 percent from the second quarter and was, by far, the lowest quarterly buyback total since the GSEs started disclosing such activity in early 2012. In fact, Fannie and Freddie withdrew...
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