A recent appeals court ruling demonstrates that courts will look to contract terms between correspondent lenders and loan purchasers when determining the validity of buyback claims. In CitiMortgage v. Chicago Bancorp, the loan purchaser prevailed, with judges noting that the correspondent seller breached the contract by refusing to cure or repurchase loans. The two firms had a contract under which Citi agreed to buy mortgages underwritten or originated by Chicago Bancorp ...

Due diligence provider American Mortgage Consultants recently purchased the like-minded JCIII & Associates for an undisclosed sum, a transaction that could be a harbinger of additional consolidation in the sector. In fact, market sources contend that eventually American Mortgage Consultants will hit the auction block too – it’s just a matter of when. According to one due diligence source, the purchase of JCIII helps AMC build “critical mass,” which will attract buyers or at least ...

It’s not too late for lenders to catch the home-equity lending wave, which has rebounded after the housing market collapse and steadily gathered strength for well over a year now, according to Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic. “Home-equity lending, for years the red-headed stepchild of our industry, is coming back into favor, thanks to the growth in equity that millions of American homeowners are experiencing, and the improving economy,” Khater said ...

The legalization of marijuana has had a lucrative impact on Colorado’s economy, increasing tax receipts to the state. But housing professionals aren’t quite sure if the pot “boom” is also responsible for driving up home values. “We don’t have current statistics related to that industry,” said Kelly Moye, a spokesperson for the Colorado Association of Realtors. According to Moye, that’s partly why it’s difficult to attribute the increase in home prices to the booming weed market. But Moye notes ...

Mortgage lenders became gradually more pessimistic about profit margins in 2015, according to Fannie Mae’s most recent lender sentiment survey. In the fourth-quarter survey, 42 percent of respondents expected profit margins to shrink over the next three months. Back in the first quarter of 2015, only 10 percent were in that camp, though the group grew to 25 percent in the second and 38 percent in the third quarters of last year. A minority (13 percent) said they expect margins to ...

PHH Corp. and Nationstar Mortgage – both top 10 ranked residential servicers – recently filed to sell debt securities, an odd situation for two companies struggling with low share valuations amid a lack of confidence among both investors and stock analysts. The lender/servicers also have unveiled stock buyback programs, though such announcements usually represent a desire to do so, and not a contractual obligation. PHH’s Form S-3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission offers...

Investors should see a higher share of VA collateral in Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities pools due to increasing VA loan originations, according to Deutsche Bank analysts. Given their rising share of VA collateral, new Ginnie pools are likely to have worse convexity than most of those originated in 2015, analysts said. “VA loans tend to prepay faster than FHA loans when in the money as VA loans have larger loan sizes, higher FICO scores and a more efficient streamline refi program that requires a minimum three months seasoning,” they observed. In addition, analysts expect the population of younger veterans to surge approximately 36 percent over the next five years. “[As such], there will be a healthy supply of new VA originations eligible for pooling,” they said. As a result, the share of FHA relative to VA collateral in new Ginnie II pools will likely decrease, they said. Such a trend has manifested itself slowly as ...

Nearly 2,400 FHA lenders will receive electronic notifications on Jan. 1, 2016, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development instructing them to begin their recertification process or risk exclusion from the FHA program. HUD is encouraging the estimated 85 percent of FHA lenders that operate on a calendar-year basis, instead of a fiscal-year basis, to prepare their recertification packages for submission to the Lender Electronic Assessment Portal (LEAP). LEAP allows FHA lenders to complete annual recertification, among other things. The portal is accessible through FHA Connection, which provides lenders and business partners a path to HUD’s computer systems. Annual recertification can be a lengthy, time-consuming process for ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced its loan limits for 2016, which are the same as the loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this year. Currently, the VA’s maximum guaranty amounts are indexed to the FHFA loan limits, which range from a base of $417,000 to a high-cost area limit of $625,500. The FHFA conforming loan limit will remain unchanged at $417,000 for single-family homes, effective Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016. However, in 39 counties deemed “high cost,” the conforming loan limits will increase this year. VA loan limits are calculated based on the county median home values reported by FHA. The maximum guaranty amount for loans over $144,000 is 25 percent of the current VA county loan limit. Veterans with full entitlement available may borrow up to this limit and VA will guarantee 25 percent of the loan amount. In addition, the VA county limits ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to propose changes to rules under its Home Loan Guaranty program related to loan fees, appraisers, limited denial of participation and residual income. Three of the proposed rules are slated for publication in the first quarter of 2016, according to the VA’s semiannual regulatory agenda. Agenda items, however, usually do not follow their publication dates and most rulemakings take a while before they are finalized. One proposed rule would establish reasonable fees that VA lenders may charge in connection with the origination and servicing of VA loans. All proposed fees would be in line with those charged by private mortgage lenders, assuring the sustainability of the VA loan program, the agency noted. In addition, the VA plans to propose rule changes regarding limited denials of participation (LDPs). LDPs are VA-specific sanctions that the Loan Guaranty Service may ...