Loan Think

Here's a bit of 'on-the-ground' intelligence from one title company vendor attending the annual Mortgage Bankers Association show in San Diego (edited, in part by me for clarity and grammar): "I'm in the convention hall, talking to the folks in the booths (as I would think the average mortgage lender would) about readiness for the RESPA rule and am, candidly, nervous. In one discussion with a vendor about a nuts and bolts question, she told me 'We'll have to talk to our compliance lawyer about that -- we hadn't thought of it the way you are portraying the question.' In another booth, when I asked to speak to the person who would know why the software treated a question the way it did I was told 'We left him back at the office.'

CALIFORNIA MAN GETS 100 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

I will admit it: I am a big fan of certain reality television shows. And one of my very favorites used to be Jon and Kate Plus 8. I am of the opinion that neither should be making their divorce case on the talk show circuit. It doesn't make either look good. There is one expert who says there are lessons for those who give presentations on what not to do from watching Jon Gosselin.

There is still no word yet on the sale of $12 billion of jumbo servicing rights that belonged to the now-defunct Thornburg Mortgage of Santa Fe. We're assured the deal is coming. Then again, Thornburg (a nonbank) is in bankruptcy and one can never tell what a judge will do. Even though Thornburg went bust earlier this year, its credit quality was decent -- at least that's what its former CEO Larry Goldstone used to say. Then again, the 'Great Recession' has hurt all Americans, even jumbo borrowers. We keep hearing tales about jumbo lenders that are more than willing to extended credit on $750,000-plus homes but want the consumer to have at least 12 months of monthly payments to be held in reserve -- in a "lock box." Anyway, in Monday's National Mortgage News we're publishing an update on the state of jumbo lending in the U.S. The issue will be distributed at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association in San Diego...

This week I received a call from my uncle:

THIS JUST IN: Freddie Mac late Friday announced its warehouse lending pilot program and it's pretty much what we expected. Also, Fannie Mae is working on a similar pilot. But will any of this make a difference in the devastated warehouse niche? For the full analysis see the Monday print edition of National Mortgage News. Don't subscribe? Call: 800-221-1809. Meanwhile, the pilot will be "topic A" at the upcoming warehouse lenders' forum. This private little powwow is being held in San Diego at the annual convention of the Mortgage Bankers Association...

We're beginning to hear some talk that certain lenders are getting "aggressive" when it comes to jumbo lending. Of course, the "new" aggressive means they are willing to originate jumbo and "super" jumbo loans as long as the customer puts 20% down. All new production (as you may've guessed) is being housed on the balance sheet of the originating bank or thrift. (I've also heard talk that a certain hedge fund soon might be jumping into this market as a portfolio lender.) And who are the nation's top jumbo funders? According to the Alternative Products Quarterly Data Report, Bank of America led the market in the first-half with $20 billion in fundings. For the full ranking email: Deartra.Todd@SourceMedia.com...

With all of the bad news going on all around us I thought it might be a good idea to share some funny things with you. Of course there is also a marketing lesson.

After several months of talks with their regulator and customers (and plenty of rumors), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are coming to the rescue of non-bank mortgage firms that need warehouse credit. An announcement is expected any minute. As long as a lender has a commitment to purchase a newly originated loan from a GSE the capital charge against an outstanding line of credit should not be a problem -- or so we are told. For the full story (with all the details) see the National Mortgage News website shortly. Meanwhile, NMN reporter Bradley Finkelstein is about to report on former Cityscape Mortgage chief Bob Grosser joining a luxury lender...

Seems like more often than not, the stories you see in the media about reverse mortgages are, well, less than complimentary. Let's face it they are down right ugly. Seniors are cautioned to be extra careful and our segment of the industry is labeled as the next subprime crisis. Gimme a break.