Origination

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking at warehouse lending to see if such transactions are legitimate secondary market transactions under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

I saw six people huddled on the sidewalk in front of me; through their legs I saw what looked like a body on the ground. I rushed over to see what was going on. I saw a man with a bloody gash on his head; he appeared to be unconscious.

Ask anyone in the mortgage or real estate industry how to avoid buying a house that will end up underwater, and the immediate response is a cackle and quick-witted retort. “You would need a crystal ball for that” is the most common response.

George Madison, general counsel of the Treasury Department, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may move forward with proposed rules without a permanent director.

At its Nov. 23 meeting next week, the Financial Stability Oversight Council is set to discuss the on-going foreclosure mess and whether it presents a systemic risk to the financial system, according to a Treasury Department official.

Settlement service fees for mortgage originations haven’t budged much since new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act policies took effect at the beginning of the year, according to a new study.

The mortgage services division of IBM has taken control of roughly $47 billion in servicing rights from JPMorgan Chase and eventually may increase its contract with the megabank to $100 billion, industry officials close to the deal confirmed to National Mortgage News.

ING Real Estate Finance has promoted Michael Shields to managing director and head of ING Real Estate Finance for the Americas. In his new role, Shields is responsible for management of the company's $6.7 billion real estate loan portfolio in the Americas, which consists of term loans, construction loans and subordinate debt, as well as for growing that portfolio.

HUD is forecasting that the Federal Housing Administration will endorse $288.7 billion of single-family loans in fiscal year 2011, a 9.4% decline from FY 2010, which ended September 30.

Chatham Lodging Trust, a hotel real estate investment trust based in Palm Beach, Fla., has cancelled a public offering of 7 million common shares.