Originations

While the lessons of a survey Mintel Comperemedia reported on this past spring applies specifically to banks, there are messages to learn for mortgage originators (of which many people place in the same boat) as well.Mintel said the "secret weapon" for banks to combat distrust by consumers is the social media. The company cited a survey which found less than half of respondents said their bank is a company they can trust, and 50% said they had less trust in banks than they did two years prior.However, 22% of respondents in the same survey said they thought social media sites helped them make good decisions about their purchases, with an equal number saying social networking sites helped them to make good decisions about life in general.

Mortgage buyers are finding new reasons to make the originators buy back home loans, ensuring that repurchases will remain a burden for lenders for the next few years.

ORLANDO, FL-Sooner or later, mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration may once again become the loans of last resort for borrowers who can't qualify for conventional financing. But for now, they are king.

That's the word from Jacksonville mortgage broker Patrice Yamato, who led an entry-level course on FHA loans at the Florida Association of Mortgage Professional's annual convention here earlier this month.

Indeed, FHA loans are "just about the only low downpayment product in town," said Yamato, who was FAMP's president in 2006.

Capital Communications Federal Credit Union, Albany, N.Y. has acquired two mortgage service companies based in the state's capital.

Single-family housing starts leveled off in June, dropping by 0.7%, following a 10% decline in May after the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit.

After three years of staggering losses from the housing crisis, MGIC Investment Corp., Milwaukee, defied analysts' expectations and posted a $26.4 million profit for the second quarter.

Innkeepers USA Trust, a real estate investment trust based in Palm Beach, Fla., today filed a pre-arranged plan of reorganization under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code after reaching agreements with certain creditors.

CapLease Inc., New York, has entered into an amendment to its secured revolving credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank NA.

Toronto-based Avison Young is expanding its U.S. presence through the acquisition of Hodges Management and Leasing Company of Atlanta.

Things will bottom out in the California office and industrial real estate markets later this year or early next year, but a panel of developers believes there is a "distant glow of light at the end of the tunnel," according to the latest Allen Matkins/UCLA Anderson Forecast Commercial Real Estate Survey and Index Research Project.

Loan officers, loan data and underwriting are all going to continue to face mounting scrutiny from investors and regulators as the market strives to reach a point where investors become comfortable enough with private-label risk to rebuild that market again, a move that could pave the way for reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.

It is no secret that it is cheaper for any business, including a mortgage originator, to keep its current customers rather than to have to spend money to acquire new ones.

Reserve studies, in which one can demonstrate there are sufficient reserves set aside for potential condominium maintenance without necessarily meeting the traditional guideline of 10%, are being described as a way to increase FHA and Fannie Mae financing for condo units.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and 29 other members of Congress have introduced legislation that would prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from stifling state programs that allow localities to sell bonds to finance energy-efficient ­upgrades made by ­homeowners.

The nation's home ownership rate, already down from a high of more than 69% at the height of the housing market to 67.1% today is poised to fall even further, according to California marketing consultant John Burns.

FIS, Jacksonville, Fla., has closed on a private offering of $1.1 billion of unsecured notes.

National banks and federally chartered thrifts conducting their mortgage lending operations through subsidiaries may have to restructure their operations due to the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill.

Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc. of Chicago has hired Stephen Jacobson to build and lead its credit tenant lease team.

Citigroup paid out $210 million for loan buybacks in both the first and second quarters, according to company executives.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed on a sale of 40% equity interest in a limited liability company (LLC) created to hold assets with an unpaid principal balance of around $1.85 billion from 22 failed bank receiverships. Barclays Capital advised the FDIC on the transaction.