Category Archives: Mortgage Loan

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it is now accepting consumer complaints about credit reporting and will work to help resolve individual credit reporting issues. “Credit reporting touches the financial lives of nearly each and every American,” writes Scott Pluta, CFPB’s assistant director for the Office of Consumer Response. “Credit reports affect whether or not you are able to get a credit card, a home loan, an auto loan, or a student loan, the ability to rent an apartment or get hired, and even tasks as simple as getting […]

Economists from the Mortgage Bankers Association sounded an optimistic note at a press conference yesterday afternoon during the organization’s Conference & Expo in Chicago, with predictions that unemployment will go down, home purchase loan originations will go up, and mortgage rates will remain low in 2013. All of these point to a continued housing recovery, but they cautioned that major economic challenges loom that could bring about a reversal — particularly in interest rates. “The most immediate threat is the fiscal cliff,” said Jay Brinkmann, the MBA’s chief economist and […]

The government has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Wells Fargo, alleging the nation’s largest mortgage lender has engaged in a decade of regular “reckless origination and underwriting” of government-backed loans. The government’s lawsuit is the latest in its broad sweep against banks that cites the Federal False Claims Act, which targets lenders accused of misusing Federal Housing Administration loans. (The FHA does not make loans but insures loans that lenders make.) Wells Fargo denies any wrongdoing and said it would “vigorously” defend itself against the government’s accusations. Company officials […]

The shadow inventory of troubled mortgages and foreclosed homes saw a 1.2 million decrease in the first half of the year, according to research conducted by JPMorgan Chase. Chase researchers expect that progress to double before the year’s end, too. That would then bring the shadow inventory to more than 4 million, which is down from the 6 million peak reached in 2010. A rising number of short sales has allowed more banks to clear the shadow inventory that has threatened the housing market’s recovery, according to the research. Banks […]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is proposing charging more for mortgages in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York because it takes longer in these states for banks to foreclose. The rationale is that the longer it takes a lender to repossess the collateral behind a mortgage, the higher the potential costs. Although the fees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge would only rise by 0.15 to 0.3 percentage point of the loan amount, creating state-level mortgage pricing could set a new precedent.   The author of this article […]

Fannie Mae announced that it will no longer be using third-party management vendors and sales teams to help manage its REO properties. The mortgage giant will now be handling the management of its REO inventories through its in-house staff. “We have reduced our REO inventory from 162,489 properties at the start of 2011 to 109,266 as of June 30, 2012,” Fannie Mae officials told HousingWire in an e-mail. “With a reduced inventory of properties, Fannie Mae’s in-house teams now have sufficient capacity to manage our REO properties without the assistance of third […]

Threats of withdrawn mortgage credit may deter local governments from accepting proposals to seize underwater mortgages through eminent domain, not court rulings, according to one expert on the issue. The actual process itself may not face huge legal hurdles. “The legality is not an impediment to this program. Eminent domain is never popular. But the Supreme Court has very seldom, if ever, found local governments’ use of eminent domain as unconstitutional,” said Richard Friedman, managing attorney for Neal & Leroy, during a Source Media webinar for bond investors Thursday. A […]

Fixed-rate mortgages continued to hover near all-time lows, keeping home buyer affordability high. Freddie Mac reports the following averages in this week’s mortgage market survey: 30-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 3.55 percent, with an average 0.7 point, dropping from last week’s 3.59 percent average. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 4.12 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages: averaged 2.86 percent, with an average 0.6 point, holding steady from last week’s average. A year ago, 15-year rates averaged 3.33 percent. 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages: averaged 2.75 percent, with an average 0.7 point, […]

Actor Tommy “Tiny” Lister, who has appeared in about 100 movies and TV shows, has pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud in a scam that cost banks about $4 million in losses. Lister was accused of buying four homes that he knowingly couldn’t afford by falsifying bank statements, escrow records, and inflating his income so that he would not have to pay down payments on the homes. He reportedly received up to $5.7 million in mortgages. He defaulted on all four of the homes. Lister is also accused of accepting kickbacks […]

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase — by an average of 10 basis points — the fees they charge lenders to guarantee loans. The fee increases are expected to be passed along to borrowers, possibly with higher interest rates, Bloomberg reports. However, banking trade groups say any increases should be minimal and shouldn’t hurt mortgage lending. For example, a rise of 10 basis points could potentially cost a borrower with a $200,000 mortgage about $4,000 over the term of […]