Home prices across the US increased month over month and year over year in December, according to the Home Price Index (HPI) released by Black Knight for December residential real estate transactions. The US HPI was $283,000 in December, an increase of 0.1% from the previous month. Home prices closed the year 6.6% above end …
Month: February 2018
Quicken Loans overtakes Wells Fargo as country’s largest lender
Quicken Loans has overtaken Wells Fargo as the country’s largest mortgage lender. The Detroit-based nonbank lender racked up $25 billion in loan volume in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Forbes. Wells Fargo, meanwhile, posted $23 billion in loan volume in the same time frame. Bank of America took third place with $13 billion. …
Stratmor: Reverse fears among forward lenders signal lack of market understanding
With forward lending volumes and margins projected to decline, lenders should look into adding reverse mortgages to their mix, according to mortgage industry advisory firm Stratmor Group. While some lenders stay out of the reverse mortgage market, Stratmor Senior Partner Jim Cameron said their reasons for not offering such mortgages reflect a lack of understanding …
Is homeownership becoming the sole domain of the rich?
by Ryan Smith23 Feb 2018 Most Read The Many Ways to Be Relieved of Your Timeshare ObligationsWhile it is true that a timeshare contract is a binding legal document, it is often mistakenly thought that such a contract cannot only be cancelled. In fact, most timeshare companies maintain that their contracts are non – cancellable. …
Mueller reportedly probing whether Manafort promised White House job to bank CEO to get mortgages
Posted on February 23, 2018 | Leave a comment From the NBC report: Federal investigators are probing whether former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort promised a Chicago banker a job in the Trump White House in return for $16 million in home loans, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News. Manafort received …
Ditech Holding appoints 5th CEO in 2 years
Ditech Holding Corporation (formerly Walter Investment Management Corp.) has – for the fifth time in two years – named a new CEO. The company, which changed its name after emerging from bankruptcy earlier this month, has named Jeffrey Baker as its interim CEO. Baker succeeds Anthony Renzi, who announced his departure earlier this month and …
Hensarling questions Watt on Fannie, Freddie payments to affordable housing funds
Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is seeking answers from Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt regarding his decision to continue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s payments to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund despite the GSEs latest infusion of taxpayer funds. Hensarling is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The funds, …
NAMB seeks to ban trigger leads
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), an association that represents the interests of individual mortgage loan originators and small to mid-size mortgage businesses, has announced that it is seeking to ban trigger leads. Mortgage trigger leads are created and sold by the national credit bureaus. These leads are composed of names, contact information and …
More legal trouble ahead for Countrywide
It looks like there’s more legal trouble ahead from Bank of America’s Countrywide unit. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Countrywide Financial Corp., Bank of America, and LandSafe Appraisal Services. The suit accuses Countrywide and LandSafe of conducting fraudulent appraisals to boost the number of loans originated by Countrywide. The lawsuit claims that in …
Top originator: ‘Over-communicate’ to inspire realtors’ confidence
At just 31 years old, Jarret Coleman is already one of the top originators in the business, producing over $150 million in annual loan volume for United Bank. His main advice for other young mortgage professionals: always “over-communicate” with realtors and don’t rely too much on emails or other online mass marketing. “Unless an agent …