NAHB said by sharply reducing the number of taxpayers who would itemize, “what’s left is a tax bill that essentially eviscerates the mortgage interest deduction…”
With just over 4.5 million mortgage borrowers potentially affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a secondary market is beginning to develop for mortgages that were originated and closed prior to the storm – but had not yet been placed into a security. According to bidders in the market, the early action focuses on loans that are “stuck” on warehouse lines. But the mortgages cannot be securitized until the property (if damaged) can be brought up to code and re-inspected ...
With the non-agency securitization market showing signs of life this year, firms that specialize in due diligence reviews on such products should be rubbing their hands with glee. But not so with some operators, including The Clayton Group, considered one of the largest players in the market. Late this week, Radian Group, the parent company of Clayton, revealed a $12 million charge against third-quarter earnings because of restructuring charges to the unit. Last week, in a filing with ...
The FHA lost ground to private mortgage insurers in the purchase-mortgage market during the third quarter of 2017, according to an analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance.The government-sponsored enterprises securitized $64.59 billion of purchase mortgages with private MI in the third quarter, up 28.5 percent from the prior quarter. This far greater than the 9.5 percent increase in FHA purchase loans delivered into Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities during the same period. Although the FHA program remained a favorite among first-time homebuyers, private mortgage insurers saw a substantial gain in the segment. In the third quarter, first-time homebuyers comprised 74.1 percent of FHA purchase loans, but the dollar volume of such loans pooled in Ginnie MBS rose just 9.1 percent, data showed. On the other hand, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw their insured first-timer ...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development will review its current lender-certification process and defect taxonomy to address industry concerns about costly penalties and settlements arising out of False Claims Act lawsuits. In remarks at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in Denver this week, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said the review would benefit greatly from feedback by lenders and other stakeholders in response to President Trump’s directive to all federal agencies to eliminate burdensome and duplicative regulations. Carson said HUD’s immediate concern is bringing back lenders that have exited the FHA single-family program or limited participation because of the undue risks they face from FCA enforcement. Lenders need clarity in what HUD expects from them in terms of lending and reduced exposure to outsized liability from immaterial errors, the ...
Brian Montgomery, President Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary for housing and FHA commissioner, reiterated his commitment to fight fraud and misrepresentation in FHA lending but wondered whether the Department of Justice had gone too far in using the False Claims Act as an enforcement tool against lenders. Testifying during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Montgomery expressed concern whether the DOJ and the Department of Housing and Urban Development had been adversarial towards lenders in their efforts to stem taxpayer losses and protect the FHA insurance fund. In prepared testimony, the nominee said the government must do better in providing clarity to encourage lenders to make FHA-insured loans and entice those that have exited for fear of exposure and liability to return to the ...
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