Compliance & Regulation

Fannie Mae, risk sharing, private capital, reinsurers.

Funding for housing counseling represents a minuscule fraction of total spending on housing-related initiatives. Still, some question whether taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck.

Many professionals in the mortgage industry are paying close attention to the non-QM market to see if it will indeed provide a path back to subprime loans of the past.

Fannie said it will immediately begin accepting applications for fixed-rate 97% loan-to-value financing of borrowers with FICO scores as low as 620. Freddie, meanwhile, took a more cautious approach, delaying the start of the program, requiring credit counseling, and in some cases only allowing FICO scores as low as 660.

With some proposals still outstanding, mortgage bond market participants are concerned that eminent domain attempts would spread if a municipality makes inroads with a proposal.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have set terms for letting borrowers put down as little as 3% of a home's cost to get mortgages, a step criticized by Republican lawmakers as a return to risky lending.

Generally, advertising cost should be split pro rata based upon the amount of advertising space each party uses under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, but more complicated issues arise.

The Federal Housing Administration said no county in the nation will experience a decrease from this year's loan limits.