Vacant foreclosed properties with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not subject to the City of Chicago’s registration ordinance, according to a recent ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The ordinance, which took effect in November 2011, requires mortgage lenders to register vacant properties with the city and pay a $500 registration fee. The ordinance also directs lenders to secure and maintain vacant buildings in accordance with city requirements.

Wall Street believes that housing/GSE reform legislation should provide for the creation of a single agency MBS.

There are signs that residential lenders are willing to accept slightly more credit risk, said one mortgage vendor.

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Flagstar are all working on large servicing deals, but as sellers. Meanwhile, HUD is worried about lower GSE loan limits.

Banks, investors and their allies opposed to the City of Richmond, CA, using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages, refinance and repackage them for sale to other investors were scheduled to have their first hearing in court at week’s end. Current investors, through trustees Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank AG, have sued in U.S. District Court to block the plan. Parties in Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Trustee, et al., plaintiffs, vs. City of Richmond, California, a municipality; and Mortgage Resolution Partners LLC, defendants, Case No. CV-13-3663-CRB, were to appear Sept. 12 and Sept. 13, before Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce jointly submitted...

Stonegate Mortgage plans to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week. Meanwhile, stock prices for other mortgage-related companies that priced IPOs this year have declined. Stonegate is unique among mortgage company IPOs this year in that it’s not a real estate investment trust. Three of the four mortgage-related IPOs that have priced in 2013 have been for REITs and the other was a nonbank affiliated with a REIT. Stonegate was founded...

A number of lenders in July stopped offering mortgages with characteristics outside of those allowed for qualified mortgages, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA said credit availability declined in August after four months of loosening. “The slight decline in the Mortgage Credit Availability Index in August reflected a reduction in the availability of certain loan features, particularly interest-only and terms exceeding 30 years,” said Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “As these loan features are outside of the QM definition, these changes may reflect the beginning of QM implementation, and the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are limited to acquiring loans that meet the QM definition.” The MCAI is...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is doing a poor job of overseeing FHA lenders, according to the agency’s Office of the Inspector General, which has found high error rates in ongoing reviews of underwriting. FHA continues to struggle with poorly underwritten mortgages, according to testimony by HUD Inspector General David Montoya in a hearing this week before the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In light of “the apparent systemic problems with the underwriting of FHA insured loans” and successful pursuit of civil enforcement against violators, the HUD IG joined with the Department of Justice and HUD’s Office of General Counsel in early 2012 to focus on the underwriting practices of 10 of the largest FHA-approved lenders. “To date, the underwriting of thousands of FHA insured...

Loan standards are not loosening on conventional mortgages, but in the jumbo space the story is entirely different.

The letter to members of Congress is notable for which trade groups didn't sign on, including the American Bankers Association and Mortgage Bankers Association.