Originations

Old Republic International Corp., Chicago, posted a net profit of $57 million in the second quarter, a major improvement from the same period last year, and another sign that the beleaguered MI industry may be on the road to recovery.

As Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look to standardize the mortgage process at the request of their regulator, it has brought about new appraisal and data delivery standards requiring lenders to lean on technology vendors to ensure they are compliant at a time when vendors are already strained.

Elizabeth Green, chair of the property and valuation services workgroup within MISMO, says this move by the GSEs will enable the industry to achieve, among other benefits, high-definition comparables. "We as an industry will have access to granular appraisal data. We have the ability to name a data source on a per-data point basis. This gives both the appraiser and his client a clear view of every bit of information that went into the appraisal and where the appraiser got that information.

"If you think about it, most lawsuits today come from invalid information or a lack of information reported on the appraisal. This new approach-given that the GSEs have chosen to standardize around MISMO Version 3.0-makes it clear from the appraiser's perspective how to delineate factual information from their own analysis. Today that is all mish-mashed together. We've moved beyond that. We need more. We need more verification sources. The appraiser needs to feel confident delineating his data from his analysis. That allows us to further support the goal of getting to a credible valuation report."

Sales of existing single-family homes fell 5.6% in June, following a 1.6% decline in May, a decent showing in the wake of federal tax credits for homebuyers expiring in the early spring.

Chalke, president of Mortgage Harmony Corp., has written an op-ed about the "disposable" nature of today's mortgages and why he thinks loans need to be more "durable."

Something's not quite right in the mortgage business. I'm not talking about the obvious relaxation of underwriting standards in recent years (now corrected a bit too much), but something deeper-something fundamental to the business itself. During the past 20 years, the residential mortgage has become disposable. The consumer keeps a product only as long as it remains fashionable and rates don't move too much. Should product trends change or rates move, borrowers toss their mortgage aside like an old suit and obtain a new one. We all know this, but the fundamental issue continues to fester.

Noted economist Mark Zandi believes the housing industry should reverse its long standing support for the mortgage interest deduction and "embrace" a reduction in the tax benefit as a way for the U.S. government to trim deficits and prevent a dangerous increase in mortgage rates.

Kislak Mortgage is re-entering the residential mortgage origination business with up to 10 store-front offices in Florida, one of the most troubled housing markets in the U.S.

With the stock market getting pounded on Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.89%, a level not seen in more than a year.

President Obama Wednesday morning signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill, which will transform the regulation of financial services and the mortgage industry over the next three years as new rules are issued and implemented.

The CEO of the nation's independent mortgage company is urging federal and state regulators to extend an August 1 deadline for loan officer licensing approvals due to processing delays at state agencies.

Drawn into the market by record low rates, refinancing applications are now at their highest level since last spring and are driving the increase in this week's Mortgage Bankers Association Market Composite Index.

We all knew it was coming; it’s been a topic of conversation at industry meetings for some time. There were questions and there was speculation, but now we know the details. While there don’t seem to be any big surprises, there are some changes and being on top of this will keep your reverse mortgage originations running smoothly.First of all, no need to panic. There are some additional steps to be taken and some additional information that will be provided to the senior, but keep in mind that the more informed the senior borrower is, the better for all of us.The new protocol requires that the senior be provided with certain pieces of information prior to the counseling session. In anticipation of these changes, some reverse mortgage originators have been gearing up. Instead of burying your head in the sand and ignoring the changes, be proactive, get a copy of the protocol from the HUD counseling handbook if you like, or speak with your lenders, they should have this information as well. If you’d like a copy, send a message via this article.

Wells Fargo & Co. funded $81 billion of home mortgages in the second quarter, a 38% decline from the same period last year, but enough to best its top rival in home lending, Bank of America.

Existing home sales in the Houston area remained in positive territory in June for the fourth consecutive month.

Even with the state kicking in a tax credit of its own, home builders in the Golden State did not weather very well the end of the federal homebuyer tax credit.

Since the proceeds of a reverse mortgage is based on the value of the property, an appraisal holds special significance in the origination of these loans.

AppraiserLoft, an appraisal management company based in San Diego, says it is dedicated to working with reverse mortgage wholesalers.

Its client list includes: Bank of America Reverse, Financial Freedom/OWB, James B. Nutter and Co., Generation Mortgage, Urban Financial, Genworth Financial, LiveWell Financial, Security One Lending and 1st Mariner Bank.

Marshall & Ilsley Corp.'s second-quarter loss narrowed as the depository said credit quality was improving and its loan-loss provisions declined.

Mortgage Banking Solutions of Texas is launching a new service to help residential lenders fight loan buyback requests.

Tom Wind, CEO of Aurora Loan Services, once the premier mortgage banking arm of Lehman Brothers, is expected to step down from the lender/servicer some time this summer, according to officials familiar with the situation.

Some commercial real estate niche firms are following in the footsteps of their residential real estate counterparts that are keeping up with changing loss risk mitigation needs through partnerships.

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services of San Francisco formed a strategic alliance with Property Sciences, a national real estate appraisal and consulting company based in Pleasant Hill, Calif., in an effort to expand the range of portfolio valuation services it provides to lenders and servicers.

"The recent alliance gives lenders the opportunity to analyze and evaluate their commercial real estate portfolios using a new suite of hybrid valuation tools," says Property Sciences vice president Andrew Mekjavich.

Even though mortgage bankers are still enjoying the steepest yield curve in years, lenders saw their average profit per loan fall to $606 in the first quarter, a 40% drop from the same period last year, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.