Nobody likes getting a mortgage, but interactive technology – if implemented correctly – can make the process significantly more transparent and less stressful, industry experts say. There is an opportunity in technology to make the system more transparent and help educate the next generation of homeowners, as well as minority groups, said Robert Greenbaum, director of communications and marketing at Fannie Mae, during a panel session at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “They aspire...

First Mortgage Corp., Ontario, CA, this month completed its liquidation, selling its branch network and $6 billion of servicing rights to other firms, and winding down a 44-year-old business that catered to FHA borrowers with lower credit scores. Jean Ziroli-Kobielsky, a recruiter for the family-owned business, noted that it wasn’t fear of regulatory oversight that prompted her father and brother to sell FMC, it was technology: “Some of our technology systems were still using DOS,” she told Inside Mortgage Finance. (DOS, or disk operating system, was the precursor to the Microsoft Windows software line for PCs.) She said...

The CSP joint venture is staffed and “no longer living like poor cousins” at the GSEs themselves.

In a spurt of new activity unveiled at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association this week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are ramping up the competition between each other, announcing new programs and partnerships and acting as though housing reform is not on the radar anytime soon. And it may not be. While rumors have swirled recently, hinting that the government-sponsored enterprises may be released from conservatorship, White House and Treasury officials confirmed this week that there are no such plans to recapitalize and release the two from government stewardship. “None of us should be misled...

The theme Cressey and other experts repeatedly drove home is that the industry can never get ahead of the threat.

Some observers believe the CFPB is questioning whether certain LOS vendors are qualified to serve the industry, fearing a potential crackdown on such companies.

Due diligence vendor The StoneHill Group is in a hiring mode...

Sen. Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, no longer wants to kill Fannie and Freddie outright...

And keep in mind there are some Ocwen investors who are hoping that the company will be sold and the share price will spike.

Mortgage lenders have entered a new, unfamiliar zone of regulation with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, which became effective on Oct. 3. The Stratmor Group, a mortgage consulting firm, said reaching out to borrowers prior to loan closing increases borrower satisfaction significantly, which regulators may view as a positive indicator of good-faith efforts to comply with the complex new rule. “One aspect of TRID compliance is making sure that the customer ...