Origination

The future is looking better in California as pending home sales increased in February for the second straight month, according to the state association of Realtors.

Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's largest residential lender, is trying a new twist on long-controversial downpayment assistance programs, which give money to prospective borrowers who otherwise could not afford to buy homes.

For smaller companies, social media is a marketing equalizer versus larger competition. The question has been are they taking advantage of it and the follow up is if they are, are they doing it effectively?

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association has raised the possibility of creating a hybrid reverse mortgage loan with members of the White House staff, Peter Bell, its president and CEO told attendees at the group's eastern regional meeting in New York.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has ordered AmericaHomeKey, Inc., to immediately stop making FHA-insured mortgages and fined the Dallas-based lender $268,000.

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes eased by half a point in February on a sequential basis, but rose 9% compared to the same month last year, according to new figures released by the National Association of Realtors.

It is hard to deny Richard Cordray's hiring to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nearly four months ago is a flash point in continuing debates over regulatory appointments and implementing the Dodd-Frank Act.

Who says a consumer with a low FICO score can't get a mortgage? A recent survey conducted by National Mortgage News found five lenders that are willing to extend credit to borrowers with FICOs of 600 or less. The three lenders with the lowest FICO scores include TD Banknorth Mortgage, Embrace Home Loans, and Compass Bank.

Residential lenders originated $16.5 billion of FHA-backed single-family mortgages in February, a nearly 10% decline from the prior month as the home purchase market slowed.

Few companies recognize the need to train their staff in the discipline of trade show participation (for purposes of this discussion "participation" is synonymous with "exhibiting") and selling. The first step toward the solution of any problem is the recognition that a problem exists. Too often the decision to exhibit at some, or all, trade shows in a given profession is decided for the wrong reasons.