Loan Think

In the 23 years I’ve been following the mortgage finance industry, many proposals have been made to scale back or even eliminate the mortgage interest deduction.

We're hearing that an Oregon pilot program might be the model the Treasury Department has been looking for to refinance borrowers who are trapped in underwater private-label loans.

The standard’s greatest risk is its ambiguity. HUD declined to provide any sense of meaningful examples as to what amounts to a disparate impact.

More laws, more regulations, more rules, more confusion for mortgage originators.

A small but important area of focus for mortgage servicers will be borrower outreach when the CFPB servicing guidelines take effect next year.

One thing's for sure: a mortgage servicing business that used to be all about sending out bills and then slitting open envelopes or electronically receiving money is a business of the past.

How we define good service is different for each of us.

Code violations are a slippery slope. If not careful your property might descend into lien oblivion, racking up enormous fines that create unwanted risk for investors.

Servicers will soon be subject to new guidelines as well, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized rules in January of 2013 designed to establish a national servicing standard.

We're hearing that the mortgage supply chain still needs more accountability and there is a more effective, simpler and even-handed way to provide it.