Loan Think

I have some questions for all the owners of small mortgage origination shops: are you running your business like it is a business? Do you have the systems in place to examine what is succeeding in your business and what needs to be dropped or even eliminated? Or are you doing things by the seat of your pants, lacking the proper data to back up your decisions?

In case you missed the big news last week: PMI Mortgage Insurance has filed for bankruptcy protection. Its chances of emerging as a viable entity stand between slim and none. If you're looking for a silver lining here, it's this: its demise means more business for the nation's surviving MI firms, including United Guaranty, Genworth, Essent and the rest of the gang.

This week's crop has some opinions and some questions. As to the opinions, everyone is entitled to their own! For the question by Mr. Roper, I believe 62 is the minimum age for someone to be qualified for a reverse mortgage. For the question by Ms. Lange, Ocwen is publicly traded and not owned by DeutscheBank to my knowledge.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to provide early warning of possible enforcement actions. Subjects under investigation to be given opportunity to respond to CFPB concerns, On Nov. 7, CFPB outlined plans to provide advance notice of potential enforcement actions to individuals and firms under investigation.

First the good news: at least interest rates are still low. And that's about it for the good news, folks. If you're like me, you're disgusted with the inability of our elected officials to swallow some of their promises and strike a deal to cut money from the U.S. budget.

We all give thanks for many things on Thanksgiving, but do you who are owners and managers show your employees some gratitude for all the hard work they do for your business?

According to mortgage consultant Joe Garrett, some former top dogs at Option One Mortgage Corp. are forming a new company. Garrett, in his blog, writes that he saw an email solicitation. “They're looking for new brokers, and get this, they specifically advertise that there are '…no credit checks (on the mortgage broker) and no references needed.'"

By now you've read the story on the National Mortgage News website about Freddie Mac working on a "credit security" where part of the bond will not be government guaranteed. That's not a misprint.

The 12-member bipartisan panel – aka the 'Supercommittee' – created in August to defuse a political standoff over raising the federal borrowing limit can't reach a deal to save $1.2 trillion in federal spending. The deadline of Nov. 23 is fast approaching.

There's grumbling out there in the hinterlands that some of the nation's largest servicers may've gotten an early peak at the HARP 2.0 details, allowing them to mail out solicitations early to their customers. (The official release came Monday.)