Mortgages

This is the latest in a series of items from a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous. His point is that to be successful in the mortgage business, you need to remain healthy.

A federal judge sentenced Scott Eric Perry to 18 months in prison on false statement charges related to an almost $750,000 mortgage fraud scheme in the Birmingham area.

According to CoreLogic’s Negative Equity Report, nearly 17 million borrowers who were underwater by the end of the first quarter had loan-to-value ratios of 80% to 125%, which purely from an LTV perspective makes them eligible for the original Home Affordable Refinance Program.

A private company has proposed inducing local governments in the "test" state of California to exercise their power of eminent domain to seize, not houses or property, but the underlying liens.

New York Mortgage Trust Inc. has priced a 4.5 million share offering of its common stock; it was originally announced at 3.75 million shares.

Eighteen months ago National Mortgages News began hearing rumors that Wells Fargo was going to toss its wholesale lending network overboard. The bank denied it and in the ensuing quarters remained among the top ranked table funders in the nation, according to the Quarterly Data Report.

Wells Fargo is calling it quits on wholesale lending, dealing yet another devastating blow to this struggling origination channel.

The delinquent loan inventory at Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. fell by less than 1,000 loans during June, as there were 154,973 loans in the inventory at the start of the month and MGIC received 11,200 new notices of delinquency in June.

Freddie Mac’s primary market survey shows the average 30-year FRM rate fell to 3.56% during the week ending July 12 from its previous record low of 3.62% last week.

At a "homeownership rally" in Tampa, the NAHB, with several co-sponsors, collected signatures on petitions calling for politicians to solve the foreclosure crisis, guarantee creditworthy homebuyers and small business the opportunity to obtain loans and protect the mortgage interest deduction.

Colony Capital LLC is one of the winning bidders on a Fannie Mae REO sale sponsored by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, according to bidders and other sources familiar with the matter.

Last summer rumors were spreading that a private equity firm had amassed $1 billion in cash and was eyeing investments in mortgage banking firms. A year later it appears that no such deals were struck by the unnamed fund, but that hasn’t stopped the talk about PE firms still looking at the sector.

Foreclosure activity fell 8% in the second quarter from a year ago due to a decline in bank repossessions, according to RealtyTrac’s midyear foreclosure market report.

Under a big white tent in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square, the NAHB, with several co-sponsors, collected signatures on petitions calling for politicians to solve the foreclosure crisis, guarantee credit-worthy home buyers and small business the opportunity to obtain loans, and protect the mortgage interest deduction.

The credit-score company VantageScore Solutions, which beat an antitrust lawsuit last year, is taking precautions to avoid repeating the experience.

Homes sales and prices—along with construction activity—have improved over the past few months, but a true recovery in the housing sector is still far away due to tight mortgage credit.

Is it better to call attention to yourself? Or wait and have someone discovers how wonderful and great you really are?

A new tool for originators to help them get the most out of their social media marketing efforts.

REITs, including mortgage REITs, continue to offer more attractive yields to investors even though the pace of increases has slowed down.

The causes of the mortgage meltdown were widespread. Repeatedly identifying one group, like brokers, may be politically expedient, but it isn’t honest.