Servicing

A large majority of banks participating in the Home Affordable Refinancing Program have restricted their refis to mortgages they already service or own, according to a July survey of senior loan officers by the Federal Reserve.

Appraisers may have started to change their business practices one at a time probably only a few years ago, but their strategy shift and where they are headed already has started to become clear.

Despite signs of a recovery and increased levels of real estate lending, devaluation is expected to lead to defaults at maturity for almost half of all securitized commercial loans monitored by Fitch Ratings.

MountainView Servicing Group, Denver, recently completed the sale of three bulk packages of mortgage servicing rights that had combined balances of $487 million.

A Florida jury convicted two defendants last week for running a foreclosure rescue scheme that took advantage of homeowners who had trouble making their monthly mortgage payments.

The Home Affordable Modification Program has long since left the spotlight. But data shows that after initially dragging their feet, the largest mortgage servicers have modified nearly 70% of loans to eligible borrowers largely because they are receiving major incentives from the government.

CertusBank has agreed to buy Myers Park Mortgage, a private mortgage company in Charlotte, N.C.

The nation’s largest residential servicers—which just so happen to be megabanks—are marking down their MSRs to near fire sale prices.

We’ve been hearing whispers about a Fannie Mae nonperforming loan auction for several months now. We understand the GSE has been actively telling people it could happen by yearend or early 2013.

In Origination News’ discussion with the officers of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals at its annual convention in Tampa, national housing correspondent Lew Sichelman asked how the changes to federal law have impacted the state’s education requirements and how conditions are in the various markets that make up this very diverse state.