Servicing

Speakers at the MBA National Mortgage Servicing Conference in Dallas called on servicers to move further up in their agenda fraud checks on loan modifications and short sale transactions this year and beyond.

New demand for short sales is expected to renew concerns about property valuation methodologies and compliance.Appetite for short sales and REO business support will be high at least for the next five years, said president of InHouse Inc. of Santa Ana, Calif., Jennifer Creech, a 23-year mortgage industry veteran who built her company based on an innovative approach.

The January Lender Processing Services Mortgage Monitor report shows frequent in and out loan delinquency and foreclosure traffic is one of the reasons why apparent improvements in the nation’s distressed mortgage market are relative, if not meaningless, when seen as part of the overall picture.

Thirty-year conventional prepayment speeds in February dropped by about 20%, according to Wall Street research reports.

Wang Jianxi, executive vice president of China Investment Corp., the country's $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, said Friday he does not see a strong possibility of a default on bonds issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The $2.6 billion in new CMBS delinquencies last month that brought late-pays in that category to a new high of 8.76% included five loans or portfolios greater than $100 million, according to Fitch Ratings.

After an exhaustive selection process that’s gone on for more than a year, Freddie Mac selected two new vendors to outsource real estate owned property disposition.

In violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, JPMorgan Chase has admitted to overcharging about 4,000 military members on their home loans and improperly foreclosing on the homes of 14 military families.

With the housing finance market so dependent on government-backed mortgages, federal regulators -- with the blessing of the Treasury Department -- have decided to exempt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-issued bonds from the new risk retention rules.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinanced roughly 3.6 million loans in 2010 with 11% of that volume tied to high LTV loans processed under the Home Affordable Refinance Program, according to new figures released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.