Mortgages

Field service companies need to maintain a quality vendor network to complete property preservation work effectively and to show theirs and their clients’ commitment to strengthening communities across the country.

Fair Isaac's (FICO) new chief executive is starting in defense mode, as the credit-score giant looks to regain the reputation and business it has lost in the wake of the financial crisis.

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust has a struck a new master repurchase facility with Credit Suisse First Boston that will help the REIT fund its correspondent mortgage business.

JPMorgan Chase reported strong mortgage results for the first quarter, noting that residential applications rose 33% from the year ago period with chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon declaring that housing is "very close" to a bottom.

It's no secret that nontraditional players have been gobbling up mortgage servicing rights on the cheap, shifting the power structure in a business that has rapidly seen its fortunes wane during the nation's housing depression.

The risk for mortgage fraud in the areas of employment and income rose last year, according to Interthinx.

Many people call the mechanics of the selling process many things—a presentation, a sales script, prepared notes or whatever - "A rose by any other name..." I like to refer to the fact that the process of selling requires sales people to make presentations. It is crucial to recognize that it takes multiple presentations for most sales people to achieve effective results.

Mortgage Technology is pleased to begin accepting nominations for the 2012 Top 50 Service Providers. The nomination form is available on MT’s website. The final deadline for nominations will be 6 p.m. EDT Friday, May 4, 2012.

Three banks suing MBIA Inc. accused the bond insurer of deliberately withholding damaging financial projections from insurance regulators who were evaluating its transformation.

The need for sensible subprime residential lending (hard money, call it what you may) has never been greater, but I would venture that less than $1 billion of these loans were originated last year, and maybe that's a generous estimate. I know of a few mortgage executives who have tried in vain to raise private equity money but with no luck.

Credit unions could be hurt by a proposal that would allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down the principal on millions of underwater mortgages, industry leaders warned this week.

Like many controversies, mortgage lenders' use of force-placed home insurance arose from what was once a well established and unquestioned practice. For many years, homeowners who failed to maintain property insurance could count on their banks buying it for them and passing on the cost.

Mortgage rates on 30-year loans fell for the third consecutive week, easing fears that refinancings could slow dramatically.

The government controlled Ally Financial Thursday morning filed an amended S-1 statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying it hopes to sell $100 million worth of common stock to the general public.

Foreclosure filings fell in the first quarter to their lowest level since the end of 2007, according to new figures compiled by RealtyTrac, but the mortgage and housing industries shouldn't pop the champagne quite yet.

Although Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, did not officially decide whether to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pursue a broad principal forgiveness program, his remarks last Tuesday left little doubt he would ultimately reject such an approach.

I just read the latest National Association of Realtors report saying that in 2011, 37% of all homebuyers were first timers. That's down from 2010 but it's still one-third of the home buying market.

Errors in good-faith estimates can be costly for the lender because of the need to make payments when there are tolerance violations. Meanwhile, consumers are looking for the lowest costs possible when closing their loans. There is now a partnership that will bring both of those things to the table for lenders.

CoreLogic, once the largest shareholder of Ellie Mae’s stock, sold its stake in the loan origination system vendor.

Residential real estate activity showed "some" improvement in March, but there were few signs of spring for the single-family housing market in the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report released Wednesday afternoon.