Mortgages

Sustained low interest rates will continue to erode U.S. state housing finance agencies' excess capital and put further downward credit pressure on the agencies, according to a report published Tuesday by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.

Steve Jobs, the visionary leader of Apple computer who died last October probably never gave much thought to the REO business. Use of his creations, however, have become pervasive worldwide in the business and entertainment industries. iPhones, iPads and Mac computers are everywhere.

First the good news: there appears to be plenty of warehouse credit available to nonbank mortgage firms provided they have a decent capital position, seasoned management, and strong production. But what about the smaller firms that fall into the 'broker to banker' category?

Freddie Mac executives believe the GSE has passed an important milestone regarding the firm's 2005 to 2008 books of business that could lead to a much stronger financial performance in its single-family business going forward.

Even as plans are announced for a 25th new condominium tower in Hollywood, 4,300 units leftover from the previous condo boom in South Florida remain unsold, according to a new report from the CondoVultures consulting firm.

How much lower would new home sales volumes have been without Uncle Sam's housing finance programs?

The wave of Hispanic homebuyers that was promised just before the market crashed is finally ready to storm the market, according to a new report from a group of real estate professionals dedicated to increasing ownership among Latinos.

Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate Inc., after its recent roll-up of Superior Mortgage, is looking at more mortgage origination firms as part of its growth plans. And given its track record in creating top producers, it should get plenty of interest.

Many people will tell you they want to achieve success during their lifetime. But what really defines success? Success is personal and for it to have real impact on your life, you must have defined what success really means to you. You may succeed based on someone else's standards or definition but remain unfulfilled. And you will actually feed unsuccessful with no sense of personal accomplishment.

Several lenders have recently been investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other regulatory bodies concerning their use of Marketing Services Agreements and similar types of agreements.

Agency mortgage-backed securities certainly dominate the market today in many respects, but as one aspect of the recent strategic plan for the GSEs highlights, the private-label market can be considered ahead of them in terms of loan-level disclosure and it is time for that to change.

It would appear that certain politicians - both left and right - look at guarantee fees and say to themselves: Hey, here's a way to raise some revenue and no one will blame us for taxing mortgage lenders. Well, guess again.

A federal appellate court has ruled that a Chicago homeowner can continue suing Wells Fargo for breach of contract and promissory fraud challenging the Home Affordable Modification Program.

The CFPB recently released its 800-plus-page enforcement manual, in which it lays out its expectations for mortgage banks and brokers. A review of the enforcement manual shows that the mortgage business is about to change forever.

Roughly 200,000 troubled mortgagors will have a chance to sharply reduce their loan balances under a side deal negotiated by Bank of America that could allow the bank to avoid as much as $850 million in penalties.

Freddie Mac reported a 16% increase in short sales last year and wants to boost the use of this foreclosure alternative by increasing the fees it pays participating servicers.

USAA Real Estate, San Antonio, Texas has made an investment in Square Mile Capital Management, a New York-based firm which specializes in equity and debt investments in distressed commercial real estate loans and properties. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

While Fannie Mae continues to bleed red ink like a busted crankcase, Freddie Mac turned a profit in the fourth quarter. Overall, it earned $1.5 billion -- but then had to give its "Godfather" (the U.S. Treasury) $1.7 billion in protection money, er, I mean, dividends. Sounds a bit screwy to me but then again the past 10 years in this industry have been screwy.

The MobileLO iPad app is a point of sale application that allows loan officers and brokers to enter the data fields of a Uniform Residential Loan Application (Form 1003), generate a Good Faith Estimate and other federal and state-specific disclosure documents, pull the applicant's credit report and collect electronic signatures.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seems to be farther along in its thinking about merging RESPA and TILA regulations than many suspected. Since last summer, the new bureau has mainly focused on devising the most informative and consumer-friendly good-faith estimate disclosures through numerous rounds of consumer testing and public input. Industry groups were impressed by this effort.