Mortgages

The volume of refinance applications increased for the first time in six weeks, while purchase applications were at their highest point in nearly four months, leading to a 4.8% seasonally adjusted increase in overall application volume, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Your prospect won't close themselves; as a salesperson you need to be prepared to close the transaction at every available opportunity. This might sound like Selling 101 but you would be amazed at how many times a salesperson will meet with a prospect and never attempts to close the sale. I decided to write about this because of two situations I encountered that supports my theory.

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau planning new rules on force-placed insurance in the coming year, at least one credit union servicer is taking proactive steps to try to make sure homeowners can afford coverage.

Mortgage industry and government officials may not want to hear this, but the resumption of a non-conforming mortgage market is a key factor in the normalizing of housing finance, and, by extension, the national economy.

Since the housing crisis began in 2007, mortgage rates have currently dropped to all-time lows and home prices continue to bottom out in most markets. The big question still lingers on the mind of everyone in the industry: Are we on the road to a recovery or are there still gloomy days ahead?

A spokeswoman for Capital One, the owner of ING Direct, has confirmed that ING Mortgage has left the wholesale channel.

A weak job market combined with growing demand for field services is forging innovative alliances that generate small business opportunities.

Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay civil money penalties and conduct a review of 60,300 foreclosures conducted by its former servicing subsidiary, Saxon Mortgage Services, as part of an enforcement action by the Federal Reserve Board.

Spring home sales are getting off to a "solid start," according to Wells Fargo Securities economists, who expect strong existing home sales this year and house prices bottoming out by the end of the first half.

Minor adjustments in the approach to distressed property data analytics and communication with the homeowner may separate a foreclosure from a sustainable workout. The key is in considering all the data involved, including factors that are not strictly related to servicing and field services.

WASHINGTON - A mortgage lender accused of discriminatory lending practices is planning to fight back against a Justice Department lawsuit - a move that may embolden other banks to follow suit.

Ocwen Financial Corp., which relies heavily on its overseas workforce, has decided to shutter a pair of North Texas servicing offices, laying off almost 680 mortgage workers in the process, according to a recent filing with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Finale Document Services has created Spanish language reverse mortgage disclosure packages to comply with the unique real property requirements for Puerto Rico.

What are the most successful private companies operating in various financial markets including the mortgage space doing to prosper in 2012? Input from hundreds of Inc. 500 CEOs who have maintained above-average growth and profitability during tough economic conditions indicates there are six areas of focus that they considered key to their company's success.

At the urging of several trade groups, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided not to prohibit mortgage companies from using profits to make contributions to their loan officers' 401(k) plans.

Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to take more aggressive steps to allow refinancing by homeowners with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages.

Investors are increasingly demanding servicers/special servicers file hazard insurance claims on REO properties regardless of whether they will be approved.

With spring right around the corner, and signs of economic recovery everywhere, there is a feeling that brighter days are ahead. Glimmers of hope can even be seen in one of the most distressed U.S. housing markets in the country.

Lender Processing Services' latest Mortgage Monitor report revealed that foreclosure starts and sales declined significantly in February from the month before, a sign that the processing backlog problem is still far from resolved.

Gateway Mortgage Group has selected Mortgage Contracting Services to perform field services for its portfolio involving pre-sale and REO assets.