Without much fanfare or industry spolight, Ginnie Mae announced last month that they are now issuing a GNMA Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) for the FHA version of the Reverse Mortgage loan program known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM. The creation of a secondary market with GNMA guaranty is vital to expanding the options for reverse mortgage borrowers. (more…)

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) released the 2007 conforming loan limits this afternoon and announced what many industry experts expected, no change. The OFHEO had previously issued a statement on November 15th saying they would not lower conforming loan limits for 2007 from the $417,000 limit set in 2006. (more…)

In a bizarre story that only gets more strange, Edward Batayeh is now being considered by law enforcement agents to be “armed and dangerous”. This morning as police and FBI agents converged on his home, Batayeh was seen fleeing from his residence at a high rate of speed in his maroon BMW X3. (that’s going to be hard to find). (more…)

Speaking before Wall Street today at the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh expressed continued concerns about inflation.

“Inflation, though down somewhat from its level earlier this year, remains uncomfortably elevated. Financial market prices imply that inflation will continue its gradual but persistent downward track during the forecast period,” claims Warsh.

For mortgage bankers this means (more…)

Enables Mortgage Servicers to Minimize Default Rates and Achieve Lowest Foreclosure Process Cost

Tavant Technologies Inc., a rapidly growing IT services company focusing on the development of mission- critical software applications, today announced the immediate availability of its unique default management capabilities that enable mortgage servicers to achieve lower delinquency and default rates. These capabilities are comprised of a set of frameworks and components for speedy deployment that leverage Tavant’s extensive experience in the development and implementation of Mortgage Servicing applications, specifically in default management. (more…)

The Research Institute for Housing America in conjunction with the Mortgage Banker’s Association and Radian mortgage insurance completed a study of housing trends among baby boomers. The focus of the study was in two key areas.

1) What are the trends of second home ownership among baby boomers
2) Are suburban empty-nesters flocking to urban areas

This article focuses on the findings related to the first question, what are the trends of second home ownership among this age group. The findings may not be what you think… (more…)

Bank of America recently commissioned a survey done by MARC Research on the reason for people taking out home improvement loans. 60% of those surveyed claim that their goal is to increase the home’s value.

The survey also showed that 56% of homeowner’s did major home improvements prior to putting the home on the market for sale. (more…)

Andrew McCormick was the SVP Portfolio Transactions for Fannie Mae during which time period Fannie Mae was later to be found guilty of “inappropriate accounting and inproper earnings management”. While Mr. McCormick’s role is somewhat secondary to the charges made against Fannie Mae by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, he was clearly aware of the methodology being employed to report higher earnings. (more…)

CHICAGO, Oct 23 (Reuters by Al Yoon) - Stricter oversight of lenders selling payment-option and interest-only mortgages will reduce Wall Street’s role in the business and allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to focus on recouping lost ground, an industry panel said on Monday. Regulatory guidance on such “exotic” mortgages will crimp production of the loans that are used as collateral for so-called private-label mortgage-backed securities, Michael Marriott, a managing director at Credit Suisse, said on a Mortgage Bankers Association panel in Chicago.

“The regulatory guidelines are definitely going to dampen (more…)

Two press releases issued today by New Century Financial Corporation (NYSE: NEW), a real estate investment trust (REIT). The first of which denotes reduced earnings for the 3rd quarter of 2006 and the second announces lower origination volume in October 2006 vs. October 2005. (more…)