Lobbyists and analysts who track the market are unanimous on one key issue: GSE loan limits. From what we’re told, Watt will shelve any thought of lowering the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgage limit in 2014.

A publicly traded real estate investment trust is the buyer of Fannie Mae MSRs offered by CashCall, investment banking sources said.

At the closing of the sale of Crossline, $500,000 will be held back to cover the CEO's indemnification obligations.

With refinance volume falling and minimum net-worth requirements heading north, advisors in the mergers-and-acquisitions market say undercapitalized firms should sell now, while they still can. Larry Charbonneau, a principal of Charbonneau & Associates of Texas, said he is currently working on four deals but noted that, “There a lot of shops out there with less than $5 million in capital that need to do something but haven’t realized it yet.” Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have net-worth minimums in the $3 million range, there is...

The man heading the MSR sales effort for Wells Fargo is Brian Kunar, who carries the title of senior vice president of servicing sales.

Ocwen Financial, the nation’s top-ranked subprime servicer, was the only firm among the major servicers that increased its subprime servicing portfolio (excluding subservicing) in the third quarter of 2013.

Mortgage professionals who work the M&A trade contend that interest in residential finance is not waning in the least, but potential buyers are being a bit more choosey these days.

One last thought on Berkowitz and Fairholme: To get Congress to listen to your ideas you have to donate money. Berkowitz can check that box off his to-do list. He has been a generous donor to Republicans and Democrats alike over the past two election cycles.

At Sept. 30, Freedom Mortgage serviced $28.69 billion of home mortgages, an impressive 75 percent jump from the same period a year earlier.

Can Ellie Mae get a deal done with residential originations expected to slow in 2014?