Financial Freedom’s operation is the subject of an investigation being conducted by the HUD IG's office...

As federal programs to help underwater borrowers are phased out, government agencies want the mortgage industry to pick up where it left off to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure. They suggested that future programs be accessible, affordable, sustainable, transparent and have sufficient accountability. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Treasury, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released a report this week that discussed what future loss mitigation programs should look like and lessons learned. The Home Affordable Modification Program and related federal initiatives will sunset at the end of 2016. “With the formal end of the crisis-era programs, the mortgage servicing industry will shoulder...

Some banks nearly tripled their bulk MSR acquisitions in 2Q16. SunTrust, for example, bought $7.41 billion of GSE servicing during the period, making it the third most active buyer in the market.

Several large banks accept the current acknowledgement agreement, while others avoid it like the plague.

“Most real estate agents say high loan-to-value ratio mortgages are readily available, especially for homebuyers with good credit,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys.

The secondary market in mortgage servicing rights rebounded during the second quarter of 2016 after starting the year with a thud, according to an exclusive Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of mortgage-securities disclosures by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. The three agencies saw a combined $42.95 billion of MSR change hands in bulk transactions during the second quarter. That was up 20.6 percent from the first quarter, when ... [Includes two data charts]

Nonbanks serviced $2.155 trillion of agency MSR as of the end of June, a 3.4 percent increase in three months.

The after-mitigation defect rate on FHA mortgages increased from 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 8.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016.

While some banks have reduced their FHA lending in recent years and alternatives from the government-sponsored enterprises are still gaining traction, homebuyers still have access to low-downpayment mortgage programs, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. “Most real estate agents say high loan-to-value ratio mortgages are readily available, especially for homebuyers with good credit,” said Tom Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. The HousingPulse survey covering activity in June included...

The U.S. Senate last week passed legislation easing FHA rules on condominium financing even as condo reform rules are undergoing clearance at the Office of Management and Budget. H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016, was approved by unanimous consent. The bill passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 427-0 back in February. Industry observers say the bill would essentially codify long-anticipated guidelines the Department of Housing and Urban Development has drafted. Among other things, the bill requires...