Loan Think

So, were you one of the people who thought scrapbooking was just a fad and that it would go away after a short period of time? I did! But surprise, it’s more popular than ever!

As we all know, residential application volumes have been climbing now that 30-year FRMs can be had for 4% or less, but as everyone mortgage lender knows this is a cyclical business. Will full-time processors hired today be needed three months from now?

In the early spring Wells Fargo & Co., and Bank of America – which rank first and second, respectively, in terms of residential lending -- shed thousands of back office loan processors and support staff. Wells alone cut its mortgage retail fulfillment staff by 4,500 full-time equivalents or FTEs.

The No. 1 tool in the marketing bag of tricks is the use of incentives. Discounts, teaser rates and the like have been used very effectively in the cable television vs. telephone company wars. Now, one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, Navy Federal Credit Union, Vienna, Va., said its application volume is up over 50% since the start of August because of its incentives.

I just returned from a week long vacation in the South New Jersey shore area with good news: the rental market is fairly strong with prices holding steady.

Talal Ashek of Holland pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to submit false claims to a lending institution for his role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy. Sentencing will take place on Oct.17, before U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake.

A few weeks ago, National Mortgage News upgraded its presence on Facebook; yours truly now has an account there as well. But we aren't the only ones using Facebook to expand our marketing activities.

Bank of America told investors that its liabilities for mortgage repurchase requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be worse than expected. Bank of America now says its total potential GSE losses for the mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stand at $7.8 billion. (sfbustmes8611)

So, which firm bought Bank of America's $73 billion mortgage servicing package? Before we provide an answer, the first question you need to ask is this: What do you mean by "bought"?

Over the past few days U.S. mortgagors have caught a wicked case of 'Refi Fever.' Oh, but will it last? With Friday's bond market close several hours away one thing is clear: mortgage rates are no longer tumbling, which means anyone hoping for a 2% 30-year fixed rate loan can forget about it.