Technology

The reverse mortgage loan origination business has matured to the point to where it needs a standardized loan data file format, said an executive with RMS, Houston.

An 11th-hour settlement is expected to stave off a potential class action status in a lawsuit that claims foreclosed borrowers were overcharged for attorneys’ fees that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. did not actually incur.

Strict underwriting standards and tighter credit conditions for mortgages are leading more borrowers to turn to friends and family for loans to help fund home purchases. But both borrowers and lenders both can run afoul of tax, legal and other complications if these personal loans aren’t structured properly.

A slim majority of Americans want the federal government to do more to help homeowners with troubled mortgages, according to a recent survey conducted by Yahoo Real Estate.

The nation's top five ranked residential funders, as a group, are continuing to lose production market share, but most of that loss can be attributed to one firm: Bank of America, which is deemphasizing mortgages.

Average weekly mortgage rates continued their "How low can they go?" trend in Freddie Mac's primary market survey, declining slightly to another round of record lows.

RealtyTrac said foreclosure filings reached the lowest level in four years, as there were nearly 1.9 million default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions nationwide in 2011.

The real estate industry's data standards organization embarks on a new chapter as a standalone group.

Real estate agents and brokers should evaluate the portals where they place their home listings to maximize their effectiveness, said Spencer Rascoff, the CEO of home listing portal and mortgage rate search marketplace Zillow.

Rob Katz, Ellie Mae's executive vice president of product strategy, resigned last week, for personal reasons.