Servicing

Lenders are still holding on to scores of delinquent mortgages that date to the real estate crash, but a surge in home values across the country is motivating them to move the most troublesome loans off their books more quickly.

Mortgage servicers are actively discussing with regulators how current rules could be streamlined, and future rules could be shaped, to minimize costs and hassles.

A public interest coalition is calling on bank regulators to declare the drinking water contamination in Flint, Mich., a "disaster" and encourage lenders from around the country to extend credit to the area in order to counteract the damage.

Troubled loans no longer overwhelm the market, but there could be smaller outbreaks that servicers must be ready to deal with, a real estate services vendor says.

Residential mortgage delinquencies dropped in the fourth quarter, as employment numbers improve and housing prices increase, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

At the onset of the millennium, house flippers — people who purchased imperfect homes, renovated them and resold them at a profit mere months later — ran rampant in U.S. housing markets.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is launching a 10-day social media campaign, #HARPNow, to alert struggling homeowners in 10 states that they can still refinance via the program before it expires at yearend.

Mortgage delinquency levels fell about 30% last year, even as borrowers received more credit, according to TransUnion.

Low borrowing costs and rising home values are just two of several reasons why owning a home is far less burdensome than it was a decade ago.

Investors continue to demand additional yield for exposure to defaults on loans insured by the Fannie Mae.