Servicing

We keep hearing the same chorus week after week from politicians and regulators: we want private capital to return to the mortgage business. In a nutshell, they want private investors to play the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - that of buying and guaranteeing loans.

Fannie Mae continued its money losing ways in the fourth quarter, posting a net loss of $2.4 billion for the period and $16.9 billion for the year. In 2010 it lost $14 billion.

Mortgage statistics such as the national delinquency rate indicate that the housing market still has a long road to any recovery. With delinquencies continuing to be at a high number throughout the country, many investment firms are taking advantage of opportunities to purchase these nonperforming loans of residential and commercial land from financial institutions.

Technology is building new bridges between traditional appraisals, automated valuations, sensitive property data and housing market analytics. Federal regulation adds to the mix the development of regulatory-compliant appraisal solutions for banks and third-party service providers.

While investing in domestic real estate is simple in theory, it is rarely easy in its execution. There is much involved—from banks’ stringent requirements and the glut of paperwork to overriding labor, market and macroeconomic conditions.

Beech Street Capital, a mortgage banking company engaged in originating, underwriting, closing and servicing multifamily loans for apartment buildings and manufactured home communities, has provided a $9.5 million Fannie Mae conventional loan to acquire Oak Grove Apartments, a 369-unit apartment complex located in Miami.

SunTrust Banks Inc., which has already lost hundreds of millions after repurchasing bad mortgages, could lose up to $150 million as it deals with the cost of mortgage-servicing problems.

HUD is increasing its enforcement efforts to recoup millions of dollars in losses on improperly underwritten FHA-insured loans, holding lenders accountable for their actions, Housing secretary Shaun Donovan told a Senate panel Tuesday morning.

Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, which owns a 7.7% stake in CoreLogic, accused CoreLogic's board of directors' "desire to maintain control rather than doing what is in the best interest of shareholders."

Lack of awareness and education reign supreme topping the list of reasons why historic low mortgage rates, government-supported programs and large inventories of affordable foreclosures are not increasing refinancings and modifications. Given the complexity of the mortgage process homeowners are not taking full advantage of the wisdom gained during the foreclosure crisis.