The HUD NPL auction features 5,000 delinquent single-family loans totaling $1 billion in unpaid principal balances with representations and warranties.

Impac Mortgage released a statement on the sale of a servicing affiliate, but was light on details, including the identity of the buyer.

The top reasons for FHA condo denials include financial instability, pending litigation, insufficient insurance coverage and outdated or missing documentation.

“Eminent domain may be a local matter, but in the context of seizing mortgages, its use would have national consequences,” the four senators write in their letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.

Just how big is Wells Fargo's Ginnie Mae market share? At Sept. 30, the bank controlled 31.53 percent of the market. Its closest competitor was JPMorgan Chase with a mere 11.75 percent.

Over the past two years, the FHA endorsed 9,183 loans between $600,000 and $729,750

The Department of Housing and Urban Development expects to issue the long-anticipated FHA FY 2013 independent review of the state of the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund on or before the middle of December. The report’s release was delayed due to the three-week government shutdown in October.

The fallout from last week’s trigger of the “nuclear option” by Senate Democrats, which is expected to lead to the confirmation of President Obama’s choice to be the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has analysts worried about the possibility of expanded Home Affordable Refinance Program eligibility. The Senate voted to confirm most executive and judicial nominees by a simple majority vote, and it dramatically improves the prospects of Rep. Mel Watt, D-NC, to replace FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco. A career civil servant who has been the chief regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises for the past four years, DeMarco has resisted proposals to expand HARP and broaden the GSE loan-modification options to include principal write-downs. Expanding HARP has been...[Includes one data chart]

Ginnie Mae is taking a “go slow” approach to merging its Ginnie I and Ginnie II MBS programs, noting in a new “stakeholder letter” that players in the market have “voiced concerns about the logistics of how we get there, and in particular, what will become of the legacy Ginnie Mae I security.” Ginnie officials declined to provide an update on the process this week. A spokeswoman issued a statement saying the agency “is still studying the issue,” adding that, “We are currently evaluating what market participants want.” Since 2010, Ginnie Mae II issuance has been increasingly outpacing...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued guidance clarifying FHA lenders’ obligation to report voluntarily instances of fraud, misrepresentation and any other material findings in connection with the origination, underwriting and servicing of FHA-insured loans. Compliance experts say the guidance in Mortgagee Letter 2013-41 is a shot across the industry’s bow – a reminder to lenders about existing FHA policy requiring them to self-report fraud and misrepresentation to the FHA. Upon notification, the FHA works with the lender on any potential mitigation actions. In the inaugural issue of Lender Insight in June, the FHA reported ...