Mortgages

First things first: Yes, I can live on $500,000. Heck, I can live on $250,000 a year. Would I like to run Fannie Mae, the government-controlled mortgage giant? Answer: Sure, why not? But first I have a few stipulations.

The Obama administration has opened the door for nearly 1 million existing FHA borrowers to refinance by encouraging lenders to originate more 'streamline' refinancings. But will it happen?

Refinancing to modify a mortgage loan has proven to be the best solution for some borrowers, even though the list of mortgage loan options available shrunk significantly during the past few years to the point that makes some worry creativity is almost impossible, or simply dead.

The Wilbur Ross controlled American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., Coppell, Texas, has a new name: Homeward Residential to go along with its master plan to become a full service mortgage banking firm.

JCF Real Estate ended the fourth quarter of 2011 by being named the manager on four additional properties in Illinois on behalf of a financial institution.

Mortgage technology and service provider Altisource reported net income of $26 million for the fourth quarter and earnings of $71 million for the full year.

The House and Senate on Friday passed a $150 billion bill that extends a payroll tax reduction and unemployment benefits for 10 months without increasing guarantee fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.

The mortgage division of D.R. Horton recently fell victim to a cyber security attack, potentially compromising sensitive borrower data, the Fort Worth, Texas-based homebuilder disclosed late Thursday.

Residential Credit Solutions, a specialty servicer and NPL investor based in Ft. Worth, this week received final approvals to issue and service Ginnie Mae I and II single-family mortgage-backed securities.

Two private equity investors have agreed to buy TransUnion Corp. Advent International and GS Capital Partners VI Fund LP will buy the credit bureau from its current stockholders, including Madison Dearborn Partners and the Pritzker family business interests.

According to the office of the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Reginald Harper developed a scheme with Troy Fouquet, a local real estate developer, to create and use false loans to hide delinquent nonperforming loans.

Recently, we called a trader of nonperforming loans who said quickly, "Can't talk right now. Way too busy." Later on we finally spoke and the message delivered was quite clear: the market for underperforming and nonperforming mortgages appears to be gathering steam.

Investors seeking to buy and then rent foreclosed properties from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have raised at least $2 billion in the last six weeks, according to housing analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Even though mortgage rates continue to fall, California homebuyers are not taking advantage of this historic opportunity.

So your underwriter wants to work from home? Beyond the concerns most employers would typically have, financial services firms must carefully consider the security of private customer financial data before deciding whether, how and which employees can work remotely.

Aurora Loan Services, Denver, recently halted residential production as the company continues to weigh bids on its servicing platform, according to a former ALS official and industry consultants.

With its nonbank supervision program finally underway, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to bring debt collectors and consumer reporting firms under its oversight umbrella.

Capital One Financial Corp. agreed as part of its purchase of ING Direct USA to originate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration to borrowers with low credit scores. But five months after giving verbal assurances to the Federal Reserve and consumer groups that it would accept FHA applications with minimum FICO scores of 580, Capital One still is not originating such loans.

Most of use would agree that mortgage business is tough these days. Guidelines tightening, rules changing, compliance issues, companies downsizing. There can be a crisis on every turn and plenty to worry about on a daily basis. In fact, you could let the stress of the business overwhelm you to the point that it affects your health, and ultimately even the number of your days.

A new report that found systemic flaws in California's foreclosure process could be fodder for securities investors to make claims against banks and mortgage servicers, its author says.