The FHA allows low downpayments on loans that have credit scores as low as 580, but numerous lenders have established their own underwriting overlays to protect against poor performance.
According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance, Lau’s company, Pingora Loan Servicing, has amassed roughly $10 billion in MSRs in less than nine months.
The new service from Freedom Mortgage will handle all aspects of the mortgage transaction, from the initial customer call to closing and servicing of the loan.
It appears that the Federal Housing Finance Agency has slowed its search for a chief executive and chairman to manage the fledgling common securitization platform, which is slated to be headquartered in Bethesda, MD. One former candidate for the CEO position told Inside The GSEs: “It’s pretty much turned into the mess I suspected it would a year ago.” Discussing the chairman position, he added: “They still haven’t come to terms on compensation for the person they want.”
A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a lower court ruling against Montgomery County, MD’s bid to collect real estate transfer taxes from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The court rejected the plaintiff’s contention that the GSEs’ property sales were local in nature and outside Congress’ authority under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
More homebuyers opted for adjustable-rate mortgages as interest rates increased during 2013, although most of these loans remain in portfolio. ARMs accounted for 11.7 percent of mortgage originations in the third quarter of 2013, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, up from a share of 9.8 percent in the third quarter of 2012. Quarterly originations of ARMs have stayed relatively steady in recent years and hit $54 billion in the third quarter of 2013. But ARMs remain relatively rare in [Includes two data charts]
Even though regulatory scrutiny is sure to intensify in the new mortgage lending ecosystem crafted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, tightening margins and a declining originations market are expected to tempt more lenders to turn to outsourcing as a coping method. Would-be providers are stepping up to the opportunity. The latest to do so is Freedom Mortgage Corp., a privately-held mortgage lender based in Mt. Laurel, NJ. The company this week launched its ...
In mortgage banking, logic dictates that when loan production drops dramatically – as it has the past four months – originators cut back on compensation. But that isn’t stopping some lenders from offering huge signing bonuses to top performers. According to interviews conducted by Inside Mortgage Trends, a few nonbank lenders are paying hefty bonuses to lure certain loan officers away from their current employers. One nonbank lender based in California reportedly paid a $1 million signing bonus recently ...
Significant investments in mortgage servicing rights appear to have paid off for Two Harbors Investment, a real estate investment trust. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is also turning profits due to MSRs, servicing and a correspondent operation. Two Harbors this week reported net income of $239.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, rebounding from a net loss of $192.7 million in the previous quarter, both based on generally accepted accounting principles. During the fourth quarter, Two Harbors ...
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