Appraisal Business Insider
a la mode restructured its business to provide mortgage and real estate services from two separate divisions. A tool that allows lenders to build their own appraiser panels and automate their appraisal processes is the appraisal firewall from SharperLending LLC. CoesterReverse.com was launched by Coester Appraisal Group for ordering appraisals on reverse mortgage transactions.
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Business On the Decline at Ginnie
Ginnie Mae reported that the volume of mortgage-backed securities it guaranteed during September was off slightly from August. Volume was down 15 percent from September 2009. More recent data from eMBS indicates that October volume was even worse.
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No Shortage of Secondary Investors
Colony Capital Acquisitions LLC recently led the acquisition of $1.9 billion in assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In another FDIC sale, a variety of investors paid par for the senior certificates that were part of a securitization backed by approximately $471 million of performing single-family mortgages from 16 failed banks. Walter Investment Management Corp. purchased two pools of residential first lien mortgage loans utilizing some $20 million of proceeds from an equity offering.
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Private M.I. Firms Gain on FHA
The Mortgage Insurance Companies of America reported that its members issued 6 percent more policies in September than in August. At the same time, endorsements fell 6 percent at the Federal Housing Administration. MICA also reported that new mortgage insurance applications were virtually unchanged.
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Update on Foreclosure Crisis
Courts in two states have enacted rules in foreclosure cases expressly aimed at the affidavits at issue and placing attorneys who proffer them for their clients at risk for sanctions in the event the affidavits are false or inaccurate. Many politicians and homeowners groups have called for a Congressional investigation into the “robo-signing” issue. The Obama administration’s Federal Fraud Enforcement Task Force recently announced the opening of a criminal investigation into the submission of mortgage foreclosure-related documents to federal and state courts and federal housing agencies.
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California Lender Boasts Hirings, Increased Lines
First California Mortgage reported that it has boosted it warehouse lending capacity by more than $100 million this year. A combination of the increased lines as well as increased mortgage demand has fueled new hirings. First Cal said that around 70 employees have been hired since June.
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15-Year Popularity Grows
While borrowers who surfed prior refinance waves focused on reducing mortgage payments and extracting equity, the latest wave is flooded with 15-year conversions and borrowers seeking to reduce their loan balances. Looking back, Michele Ziemba knows she paid too much when she bought her first house in 2006. The elementary school teacher bought the two-bedroom ranch near the water in Branford, Conn., for $213,000, putting $40,000 down.
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BofA, GMAC Cautiously Move Forward
In its earnings report, Bank of America Corp. said it is amending and re-filing foreclosure affidavits in the 23 states that require judicial foreclosures. Review and remediation activities at GMAC Mortgage LLC tied to judicial affidavits in the 23 states have gone on for around two months and are continuing, according to a spokesman. “As each of those files is reviewed, and re-mediated when needed, the foreclosure process resumes,” he said.
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2 Banks Fail so Far Friday
The Missouri Division of Finance just closed down a $92 million institution. The Office of Thrift Supervision just seized an $0.5 billion bank in Kansas. Look for a story this weekend about the two bank failures as well as the rest of today’s seizures.
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Wells Still Stands By Foreclosures
Wells Fargo & Co. insists that its overall procedures in handling delinquent mortgages are sound. “Wells Fargo has no plans to initiate a foreclosure moratorium,” the bank said in a statement. But Wells Fargo did say that it will intensify scrutiny of its upcoming foreclosures.
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