One executive, requesting his name not be used, said, “It completely wrecked our last day of the month. We were unable to sending closing packages, send disclosures, export files and such.”
Whatever happened to the sale of Cole Taylor Mortgage, which has been in the works for nine months or so? Good question. When we asked one source close to the deal, his response was this: “Think of the Energizer Bunny but with fairly old batteries.
Fannie Mae this week released its STAR servicer rankings and hopefully a copy found its way to all those pesky regulators who think nonbank servicers can’t tell the difference between a debit and a credit.
W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital announced a number of new jumbo mortgage products this week. Among the offerings is a loan with a 10 percent downpayment requirement for balances of up to $850,000.
The effort to develop a common mortgage-backed security platform has a budget estimated at up to $300 million, funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the GSEs’ conservator is saying little about its progress. In the nearly six months since the FHFA filed articles of incorporation for the entity creating the common securitization platform, the agency remains silent on key issues related to the project, including the size of its operating budget.
In the last couple of years, the wholesale origination channel has been a revolving door for industry players, with some exiting for various reasons and new ones coming in to take up the slack. Those currently in the game expect the instability will continue for some time. Wholesalers say the decision to exit the business or enter at one’s own peril boils down to perception: Is the glass half empty or half full? Brian Benjamin, a mortgage broker and president/CEO of Two River Mortgages ...
Some mortgage technology consultants, speaking on-background, are prophesizing that the investment will lead to Google moving into the realty market and becoming a direct competitor to traditional Realtors.
“Revenues at some of these firms are going to take a nosedive over the next year or so,” said Anthony Garritano, founder of the Progress in Lending Association, an industry think-tank.
Increased regulation of mortgage brokers has prompted some to switch their business models to become so-called mini-correspondents. Industry lawyers suggest that being a mini-correspondent can offer benefits to those previously working as brokers, but the switch also comes with significant changes to business practices. "If you're a broker, think about what this is going to mean: higher net-worth requirements, warehouse lending, new compliance systems, new software systems to develop and generate the disclosures, and more importantly, significantly higher liability," Jonathan Jaffe, a partner at K&L Gates, said this week during a webinar hosted by the law firm. 'So there's a trade-off there if you're a broker thinking about converting," he said. Some brokers see...