Loan Think

Though the bulk of the ambitious Housing New York plan is intended to build or rehabilitate rentals, there are several homeownership components as well.

Previously there were a few larger institutions assuming the majority of the risk in the mortgage servicing market, but now this risk is more evenly distributed across smaller institutions.

By obtaining a third-party opinion that provides a reasoned analysis supporting borrowers' ability to repay, a lender places itself in a substantially stronger position with respect to subsequent ATR claims.

Risks and headwinds abound, but if smaller investors opt to pool their properties into multi-borrower securitizations, this market could materially grow. Lingering economic factors suggest large players will remain involved.

Nearly twice as many direct lenders are offering electronic disclosures to consumers now as they were only one year ago, and most of the consumers are opting to use them.

While lenders do not survey applicants on sexual orientation for their Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports, a look at the data on same-sex couple applicants is intriguing.

The Supreme Court agreed last month to resolve a stark divide in the United State Courts of Appeals regarding the time bar for residential mortgage borrowers to file suits related to mortgage loan rescissions under the Truth in Lending Act.

Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act violations cited in a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action suggest the technical compliance required rises in line with the aggressiveness of past or present marketing.

One of the most difficult conversions for lenders to accomplish is turning a past customer into a future customer.

It could take quarters or years. It may require fatter yields to entice investors, or move-up homebuyers in need of jumbo loans. This much is agreed upon: Nobody really knows.