Origination

The new mortgage origination paradigm must include building relationships and networking, skill sets that many new to the business did not learn or chose to neglect during the boom years. It is more than glad-handing when you walk in the door; these relationships need to explore issues that go beyond the point of sale.

While some Dodd-Frank regulations are still taking shape, there are several defined broad requirements that the law's implementation date last month should be lenders' cue to address. Lenders generally are well aware of and have been working on some of these requirements, but Offit Kurman attorney Ari Karen is concerned that they are overlooking two.

Lenders originated $13.3 billion in traditional FHA-insured reverse mortgages during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2011, which is down 18% from the same period a year ago.

The recent rise in refinance applications has prompted economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association to boost their origination forecast for the second half of this year by over $90 billion.

Undisclosed fines and liens on a property are a nightmare for lenders and homeowners. Now add on to that the fact these liens are not covered under the traditional ALTA title insurance policy.This is the case with municipal code violations, which could then come up to bite property purchasers and their mortgage lien holders. These are typically not recorded on government property records.

The North Shore Bank of Wisconsin has introduced a construction loan that promises “lucrative financial rewards” to those who choose to build an energy-efficient home using the new financing option.

The Appraisal Institute named a Texas appraiser as its new elected vice president for 2012 as part of its annual changing of the guard.

A report from Re/Max covering 53 different markets found home sales dipped nearly 13% between June and July, but increased by over 13% when compared with July 2010. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Mortgage quality control technology and services provider Aklero Risk Analytics has named an executive from ISGN as chief financial officer.

Potential homebuyers are "spooked" by the stock market tumbling, the deficit mess in Washington and economic news, according to a Moody's Analytics economist.