The call-center business model used by Quicken Loans won praise from real estate agents who often prefer to deal with a local loan officer, according to the results of a new survey by Campbell Surveys and sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance. “It is clear that agents like Quicken for loan programs, lead time on closing dates, policy on providing closing status to agents and performance on meeting closing dates,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. He said...

CSS, a joint venture of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is hiring at its main site in Bethesda, MD, as well as its office in Pasadena, CA.

Can (and will) Congress act to fix the TRID mess?

This same official also predicted that if TRID errors ever become an issue on Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loans, the entire mortgage market would come to a halt...

SWBC is looking to hire 40-plus technology workers.

Don't like the housing sales figures? Blame Trump and Bernie...

A number of home buyers have been duped by hackers in an e-mail and money wiring scam involving purchase mortgages, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC posted a warning about scammers “phishing” for settlement fees late last week. In a phishing scheme, fraudsters impersonate a business online in an effort to trick a consumer. “Hackers have been breaking...

Evolution and innovation are usually double-edged swords – and that’s certainly proving to be true when it comes to technology and financial services. New research from DBRS finds that banks are increasingly using technology to differentiate themselves and to enhance the customer experience. But this market upgrade comes with a cost: smaller players with less financial wherewithal are being left further behind. The first main point DBRS analysts made ...

Opendoor, an online real estate start-up, unveiled a new service this week that lets sellers trade-in one home for another one instead of watching it sit on the market or being forced to juggle two mortgages. The San Francisco-based company launched the program in Phoenix and Dallas with a goal to make buying and selling a home “as simple as trading in a car.” Once sellers find a new home, they go to the Opendoor website, decide on their closing date, and the company will take it from there, including dealing with the new home’s real estate agent along with the title and escrow. To simplify the transaction, the company doesn’t...

A day after the news broke that W.J. Bradley Mortgage has shut its doors, competition is heating up for some of its top loan officer and executive talent...