Mortgage Servicing News articles from October 2008

Mortgage Servicing News archives from October 2008

In Buyers Market, Fixer-Uppers Are Tough to Sell.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi Parsippany, NJ-As a rule housing affordability requires one's ability to pay the mortgage. Or so we thought a decade ago. While housing affordability appears to improve, in part due to increasing numbers of...

Prepare Customers if Disaster Strikes.(Credit Counselor)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi As I write these lines, the talk in town appears to be about the Democratic and the Republican conventions, the nominees, jobs, the economy, the U.S. Open finalists and other issues we wonder and worry about daily...

FHA Adds Rate Flexibility to Retention Effort.(Regulatory Watch)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins Washington-To encourage more loan modifications, the Federal Housing Administration will allow servicers to increase the interest rate on the new loan so it can be sold at par and avoid a loss. The Department of...

FHLBanks May Play Bigger Role in MBS.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins Washington-Passage of a landmark housing bill that revamps the supervision of the Federal Home Loan Banks also has laid the groundwork for the 12 banks to play a larger role in purchasing and possibly securitizing...

The Mess: Ugly Numbers Get Uglier.(Mortgage Scene)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo Over the past eight weeks I've been promoting a book I co-authored on the mortgage mess called "Chain of Blame, How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis." I've done more than 25 radio and TV interviews...

OTS Issues Guidance On HELOC Servicing.(Special Report)
October 1, 2008... Washington-The Office of Thrift Supervision has issued guidance to OTS-regulated financial institutions about the way they manage home-equity line of credit programs so they are fair to customers, efficiently manage credit risk and comply with...

Are Option ARMs the New Subprime Category?
October 1, 2008... New York-Payment-option mortgages, which stretched the buying power of consumers by allowing them to make minimum payments for a period of years before adjusting to a fully amortizing rate, are poised for dramatically increasing defaults,...

SERVICING PEOPLE.(Foreclosure Trackers Inc.)(briefs)
October 1, 2008... CALIFORNIA Huntington Beach-Foreclosure Trackers Inc. named Randy Green as its vice president of data acquisition. Mr. Green formerly held data acquisition roles with First American Real Estate, RealPro and SAFECO Title/American...

Apollo Raises Capital for Its Debt Investment Fund.(Managing REO)(Apollo Real Estate Advisors L.P.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Byline: James Comtois New York-International real estate investor and fund manager Apollo Real Estate Advisors has raised additional capital for its debt investment fund, Apollo Real Estate Finance Corp. Apollo increased overall...

Dolan Buys National Default Exchange.(Dolan Media Co. acquired ational Default Exchange)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Minneapolis-Dolan Media Co. here, a provider of business information and professional services to the legal, financial and real estate sectors in the United States, has acquired National Default Exchange, a mortgage default processing services...

Aggressive Approaches to Rehab.
October 1, 2008... Tampa, FL-As cities across the nation get creative in handling vacant properties, there are plenty of things that asset managers can do to improve the movement of their REO properties. While in the past, mortgage servicers had the option to...

Moody's Sees Bleak Outlook for Mortgage Pools.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon New York-Weaker collateral, declining home values, higher mortgage rates and reduced credit availability to lenders have caused the performance of pools of loans backing U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities...

Preservation is REO Management Priority.(Managing REO)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Houston-Mounting foreclosures mean servicers should focus intensely on property preservation in order to maximize their portfolios, according to Cheryl Lang, president of Integrated Mortgage Solutions here. ...

Rehab to Balance Values.(Managing REO: Rehabilitation Takes Over Management)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Allan Martin According to a 2001 survey by Temple University in Pennsylvania, homes within 150 feet of an abandoned property decrease a home's valuation by $6,700. As cities across the nation get creative in handling vacant...

Initiatives Help Combat Vacant Blight.(Managing REO)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Cleveland-As values drop for vacant REO properties, mortgage companies are being hurt as much as the next-door neighbors. Awareness is growing to make sure these homes compare with the neighborhoods around them. ...

Technology Does the Heavy Lifting for Lenders.(Managing REO)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon New York-Mortgage loan default and foreclosure volumes are still on the rise, the pressure to get loans modified or refinanced is intense, and it's all happening while regulatory and investor changes are coming fast...

Preservation Keeps REO in the Sales Market.(Managing REO)(Real estate owned)(Conference news)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Tampa, FL-REOMAC is gearing up for it's fall conference in Hollywood, Fla., where economist Christopher Thornburg will provide cutting-edge information and predictions regarding the economics of the country and the...

Data Suggests Housing Sector Remains Sluggish.(Managing REO)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell New York-Recent analytical data show little evidence that housing values are stabilizing nationally, and that has increased worries about the fate of the government-sponsored enterprises and other companies whose...

BGS3 Lessens Credit Damage to Owners.(Managing REO)(KY-BGS3)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Louisville, KY-BGS3 is once again expanding its operations in response to recent developments in the world of short sales. The move comes in reaction to Fannie Mae's changes to its policies on bankruptcy and foreclosure, as well as a new...

Congress Concerned By Loss Mit Training.(Special Report)
October 1, 2008... Washington-Members of the U.S. Congress, prodded by the extent of the foreclosure crisis, have started to pay close attention to the hiring and training of loss mitigation staff. That's particularly true on the House Financial Services...

Podcast Program Helps Consumers Learn Rules.(Special Report)
October 1, 2008... San Mateo, CA-Bills.com, a personal finance website, has launched a new podcast program to help consumers navigate a wide variety of finance related topics. The podcast content will cover budgeting tips, debt management strategies,...

Capmark Rolls Out Widespread Servicer Training.(Capmark Finance Inc.)(CampusMBA)
October 1, 2008... Washington-CampusMBA, the education division of the Mortgage Bankers Association, has created a commercial servicing training partnership with Capmark, a leading global commercial loan services provider. The training initiative will cover...

Mortgage Jobs Hold Steady in July Data.(Special Report)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Washington-Not a week goes by without some company announcing job cuts from its home loan business, but despite the grim news from many big companies, mortgage industry employment has been relatively stable in recent months, according to data...

Recruitment and Training.(Special Report)
October 1, 2008... It's not the best time to be looking for work in the mortgage industry, unless you happen to be one of those people who have been around long enough to remember the last real estate downturn. People with experience in loss mitigation, default...

AllRegs Helps Lenders Learn Rules of FHA Lending.(Special Report)(Federal Housing Administration)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Garritano Eagan, MN-Given the resurgence in FHA, every lender wants to tap this market, but some don't know how. In order to help lenders, AllRegs here has launched an FHA help hotline. Congress, HUD and FHA continue to...

Alt-A Catching Up with B&C Problems.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins Washington-One year after the subprime meltdown roiled the financial markets in August 2007, subprime defaults are still rising and alt-A defaults are rising at an even faster rate. Problems with Alt-A loans are...

Committed to Modify $40 Billion of Loans.(Viewpoint)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Michael Gross Mr. Gross is managing director for loan administration and loss mitigation at Bank of America. His viewpoint is an excerpt from his recent congressional testimony before the House Financial Services Committee. ...

Banks' Loss Reserves Top $50 Billion.(Financial report)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins Washington-Banks and thrifts set aside $50 billion in loan loss reserves during the second quarter as the downturn in the housing market shows few signs of bottoming and institutions face higher charge offs on...

FTC Investigating 'Deceptive Practices'.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell Las Vegas-The Federal Trade Commission may be nearing "a significant enforcement action" involving a major mortgage servicer, according to an attorney who spoke at the Western States Loan Servicing Conference here in...

Defaults Rise to New Record.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell Washington-With delinquencies and foreclosures reaching new record highs in the second quarter, the industry remains mired in the worst downturn since at least the Great Depression. The Mortgage Bankers Association...

E-Disclosures Help Servicers Modify More Loans.(Technology)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Garritano Minneapolis-Wolters Kluwer Financial Services here released Disclosure Manager with the intent to automate the point-of-sale, but now realizes that those lenders that have adopted e-disclosures can now extend that...

EDITORIAL: Foreclosures Close-Up.(Editorial)
October 1, 2008... As a journalist covering the foreclosure crisis from what often seems like an altitude of 36,000 feet, it's easy to miss the details. This editor recently toured a bevy of foreclosed condos for sale in his hometown of Minneapolis. What's...

First Franklin Sees B&C Loss.(Franklin Credit Management Corp. revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Jersey City, NJ-Franklin Credit Management Corp. says it expects a second-quarter loss of $280 million to $285 million compared to a net loss of $3.6 million for the second quarter of 2007. The company says the loss is due to deterioration...

Creditors SeizeHanover Portfolio.(Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings Inc.)(Financial report)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell Edison, NJ-The meltdown of subordinate MBS values took a heavy toll on Hanover Capital Mortgage during the second quarter, and the company had to surrender its subordinate MBS portfolio to its primary lender. "The...

DBRS: GSE Preferreds Will Not Sink Banks.
October 1, 2008... New York-Ratings agency DBRS says that despite the sinking market for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac equity securities, most U.S. banks have limited exposure to writedowns related to the preferred stock of the government-sponsored enterprises. ...

Goldman Cautions Investors on AIG's Stock.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brad Finkelstein New York-Goldman Sachs has issued an analyst report warning investors to stay away from American International Group here because of the problems in its financial products unit. Analyst Thomas V. Cholnoky said...

IndyMac May Serve as Template for Modifications.(IndyMac Bancorp Inc.)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell Washington-The FDIC has started a program to systematically modify thousands of troubled alt-A home loans from IndyMac, and the effort may help set parameters for large-scale, streamlined modifications across the...

FHA Urges Industry to Extend Forbearance To Gulf in Wake of Latest Hurricane Threat.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins Washington-Shortly after Hurricane Gustav slammed into the Louisiana coast last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development declared a 90-day moratorium on Federal Housing Administration foreclosures and...

Experts Say Fraud Has Spread to Retail Loans.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Lew Sichelman Minneapolis-Mortgage fraud has "crossed over" to the retail side of the business, according to a couple of experts in rooting out the crime. Kathy Cooke, a senior fraud investigator for Freddie Mac, said her...

North Carolina Bans B&C Release Premiums.(Brief article)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Brian Collins Washington-North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has signed a bill that bans lenders from paying yield-spread premiums, sometimes called servicing-release premiums, on subprime mortgages starting Oct. 1. This makes...

S&P: Mortgage Insurers Face More Challenges.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi New York-Standard & Poor's Ratings Services reinstated the negative outlook and downgraded some of the country's largest insurers while anticipating U.S. mortgage insurers "have limited opportunities for long-term...

Study Calculates Rate Impact on Home Values.(Report)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi New York-Mortgage rate hikes have had a significant negative impact on house prices throughout the U.S. reducing prices by more than 10%, according to new research by Columbia Business School real estate professor...

Churning Slows as Underwriters Tighten Screws.(Hedging)
October 1, 2008... Byline: Ted Cornwell It's no secret that getting a mortgage loan is more difficult today than it was a couple of years ago. Also, the panoply of loan products available to borrowers has shrunk as lenders have abandoned some of the gamier...

Servicers May See G-Fee Relief.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Paul Muolo & Brian Collins Washington-Mark Sunday morning, Sept. 7, 2008, as the day the residential mortgage business changed forever. In the months ahead, seller/servicers that upstream their mortgages to Fannie Mae and...

'Extension Theme' Suggests Prepays Will Slow.(Speed Watch)
October 1, 2008... Prepayment rates for mortgage-backed securities fell 10.5% overall in July from a constant prepayment rate of 11.9 CPR to 10.7 CPR, according to Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse researchers Mahesh Swaminathan and Mukul Chhabra, writing in the...

Zaio Hopes to Detect Fraud in Appraisals.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Anthony Garritano Scottsdale, AZ-Given pending regulation barring lenders from having interaction with appraisers in order to mitigate fraud, Zaio here has made several significant steps in furthering its position as a way to both...

Ocwen Sees Signs of Hope.
October 1, 2008... Byline: Amilda Dymi West Palm Beach, FL-New data suggest a subprime market turn around may be around the corner. Subprime mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. reports delinquencies on its subprime loan portfolio "flattened or...