A group of four senators has asked the Obama administration and regulators to reject plans by municipalities to use eminent domain to acquire underwater performing mortgages, warning of a dire impact upon the entire mortgage lending space if such a proposal takes root. In a letter dispatched last week to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, the bipartisan quartet of senators expressed their dismay that the administration “has been largely silent” on Richmond, CA’s proposal to seize performing mortgages, then refinance them into an FHA product.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling does not have the votes needed to pass the Protecting American Taxpayers and Homeowners Act in the House and, unless he is willing to be flexible on certain key issues, the package may not reach the House floor at all in this Congress, according to industry lobbyists. Talk that Hensarling, R-TX, may make another push to get the PATH Act to the House floor surfaced this week following an opinion piece he published in the Nov. 27 issue of the Washington Times. In that op-ed, the chairman focused on the bill’s FHA reform component. Hensarling underscored...

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reasons for FHA condo denials include financial instability, pending litigation, insufficient insurance coverage and outdated or missing documentation.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