Originations

Now that a 10 basis point hike in GSE guarantee fees has been carved into law, mortgage rates could rise by as much as 25 basis points, according to calculations done by Lenders One, a national cooperative of mortgage funders.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is pressuring the Federal Housing Finance Agency to take additional steps to make the newly implemented HARP 2.0 program more accessible for homeowners with GSE loans.

President Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray on Wednesday will clear the way for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to use its full enforcement and regulatory powers to police all mortgage lenders and servicers.

NewDay Financial LLC, Fulton, Md., has changed its identity to NewDay USA LLC. The USA part of the name looks to call attention to the company from its primary target markets as a Veterans Administration lender and Federal Housing Administration forward and reverse mortgage originator, company management said.

If you had only $100 to spend on a killer marketing strategy, how would you spend it?I posted that very question on my social media page at www.facebook.com/karendeis and I wanted to share with you some of the ideas, including many that don’t cost you anything but your time.

A global settlement has been reached between Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin and thousands of homeowners who filed a lawsuit who claimed that the company's tainted Chinese drywall product was used to construct their properties and severely damaged their homes.

Jerome Selitto has resigned as president and chief executive of PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J., and has been replaced by the company's chief operating officer Glen Messina.

I talk and write (a lot) about Realtor marketing and as you know, there are countless ways to spend your marketing time and dollars. Today, I want to point out what I consider to be the top three elements of a successful loan originator in relationship to Realtor marketing. These will help you build a strong referral-based business so your phone is consistently ringing with new clients. And isn’t that what we all want?

The Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate's annual survey shows the majority of respondents plan to increase their investment in U.S. commercial real estate this year, even though the percentage is lower than last year's notable high.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement a congressionally mandated increase to their loan guarantee fees on April 1.

Big news in the online lead generation world—Google is no longer selling mortgage rate advertising to lenders in all but four states and the District of Columbia.

Home builders increasingly are turning to private equity firms for land acquisition loans as banks continue to book losses on legacy loans they made during the housing boom, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

A new book from journalist Robert Neuwirth estimates that small, illegal, off-the-books businesses collectively account for trillions of dollars in commerce and employ fully half the world's workers. How much of this is going on in America is another question.

Origination News will have its annual top producer survey in the June 2012 issue. The survey is being developed right now and a link on the OriginationNews.com website will be ready shortly. Originators of all types, including those who do commercial real estate loans, are invited to participate.

A top executive at Reverse Mortgage Solutions in Houston said the company's third party origination channel expansion efforts are starting to take root and will lead the company's growth in 2012.

If you were in charge of conducting a meeting with 25 people—some who know each other and some who don't —would you start it off with an icebreaker? Should you?

Successful selling almost always requires the salesperson to obtain information from the prospect to facilitate a sale. Regardless of your product or service, obtaining insightful facts about the prospect’s needs, concerns and desires should serve as a guide on how to accomplish a favorable outcome. The problem that always presents itself is determining how to effectively probe and extract information without sounding like a C.I.A. interrogator whose next question might involve waterboarding.

Although profit margins are still healthy for most mortgage banking firms, net income in the new year will continue to be impacted by "high" rep and warranty expenses, according to a recent report from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Mortgage applications fell almost 4% for the holiday week ending December 30, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The decline is calculated on a sequential basis.

Publicly traded REIT Two Harbors Investment Corp. is laying the groundwork for a $200 million jumbo MBS deal, partnering with Barclays Bank PLC.