Servicing

As temperatures begin to drop around the nation, mortgage servicers routinely take special precautions to protect or winterize the homes under their guardianship. Vacant properties can be very susceptible to damage from cold and freezing temperatures if proper measures are not taken to protect them inside and out.Annual winterization is based on the principle of ensuring steps are made to protect the value of the asset. With that said, servicers must remember that winterization season should not be limited to performing procedures that focus on a property’s heating and plumbing systems. Rather, there are other preservation practices that should complement this process.

Market estimates of cumulative losses of $400 billion at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "overly pessimistic" declared analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Impac Mortgage Holdings, a former alt-A giant that survived both the housing bubble and a NYSE delisting, has launched a new wholesale division, promising the industry "pipeline transparency" and "industry innovation."

Sales of existing condominiums rose 15% in Florida in the third quarter as lower prices continued to attract both domestic and foreign bargain hunters.

Three U.S. senators are urging federal regulators to consider industry analysis of the default risks on certain loan products and features in drafting a rule that will exempt "qualified residential mortgages" from risk retention rules.

Mortgage rates continued their race to the basement, setting new lows for the week ending Nov. 11, according to a new survey compiled by Freddie Mac.

TPG Capital's purchase of the property information division of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates puts the California-based private equity firm squarely in the middle of the foreclosure crisis.

Mortgage underwriting standards have become "excessively tight" and the Federal Housing Administration and GSEs need to "reassess and amend their policies," according to the National Association of Realtors

Moody's Investors Service Inc. has weighed in on the widespread foreclosure-document problems with a report questioning whether document custodians followed industry standards in tracking and holding original mortgages notes in their files. It also identified specific document defects that could prevent servicers from foreclosing.

Citigroup, an active seller of nonperforming residential loans, recently sold a $1.4 billion pool of multifamily and commercial mortgages to OneWest Bank FSB, Pasadena, Calif., for an undisclosed sum.