Origination

AARP Foundation is suing Wells Fargo and Fannie Mae in the San Francisco Federal Court over the rights of a survivor to redeem the property after a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage borrower dies.

Stock market volatility drove rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to hit a new low point for the year but it also contributed to a pull-back in the purchase market, holding the increase in mortgage application volume to just 4.1% for the week ended Aug. 12, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

July was a "typical" month for housing sales in the Houston metro area, according to the local Realtors group. But because of last year's federal tax credits, which tended to push sales forward to beat the April 30 deadline, July's sales figures look somewhat stronger than they actually are.

C. Darren Stumberger is joining Knight Capital Group Inc., Jersey City, N.J., as managing director, mortgage trader, with an emphasis on reverse mortgage securitization. Knight's subsidiary Urban Financial Group is an originator of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, and a Ginnie Mae-approved issuer of HECM Mortgage-Backed Securities.

Ginnie Mae issuers sold $27.8 billion in mortgage-backed securities into the secondary market in July, up 6% from the previous month, according to the Government National Mortgage Association.

Say what you will about stock market crashes, but the latest carnage in equities is causing mortgage application volumes to spike - by as much as 30% at some shops.

While the private mortgage insurance industry is making a push to be included in a revised definition of a qualified residential mortgage, there is a question of how many of these companies will still be around when QRM goes into effect.

A few weeks ago, National Mortgage News upgraded its presence on Facebook; yours truly now has an account there as well. But we aren't the only ones using Facebook to expand our marketing activities.

Conventional refinance mortgage application numbers affected by low rates during last week's market volatility are expected to come in roughly around 20% lower than they were when the Mortgage Bankers Association's application index hit its peak last year, according to a Credit Suisse report Monday.

Distinctive features related to principal forgiveness in an unusual modification program Ocwen recently started could improve efforts made to resolve underwater loans in securitizations, according to a Moody's Investors Service report Monday.