Category: Mortgage

Secret Code Separates Mortgage Approval

By Riekie Karstens A loan officer submits a mortgage application for approval from the automated underwriting system, which is used in the mortgage industry to quickly separate the wheat from the chaff to determine whether applicants qualify for a mortgage. A secret code separates the wheat from the chaff in the loan approval process. Creditors… Continue reading Secret Code Separates Mortgage Approval

Plan to Wind Down Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

By Mike Colpitts For the second time in a year, a branch of the federal government has introduced a plan to wind down the lending of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The acting administrator of the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent Congress a strategic plan to wind down the lenders over the next… Continue reading Plan to Wind Down Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae

Mortgages Fall Four Weeks in a Row

By Mike Colpitts Mortgage applications fell for the fourth straight week, indicating a slowdown in the volume of home mortgages for refinancing and home purchases is sustaining a sluggish pattern, despite near record low mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The fall in applications, however, was only 1.2% for the Market Composite Index,… Continue reading Mortgages Fall Four Weeks in a Row

Feds Triple Incentive to Reduce Mortgages

By Amanda Green For over a year the White House has been applying pressure on the Federal Housing Finance Agency – the folks in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – to embrace a mortgage principal reduction plan for struggling homeowners, and even offering triple incentives to lenders to reduce mortgages. U.S. Secretary of… Continue reading Feds Triple Incentive to Reduce Mortgages

States Mortgage Settlement to Aid Wrongly Foreclosed

By Mike Colpitts The mortgage settlement reached by 49 state attorneys general and the U.S. government requires banks and mortgage servicers to implement changes servicing mortgages, handling foreclosures and attempts to insure the accuracy of information provided to federal bankruptcy courts in an unprecedented manner. The $25-billion agreement requires new bank servicing standards in an… Continue reading States Mortgage Settlement to Aid Wrongly Foreclosed

Mortgage Modifications Slip, but Outpace Foreclosures

By Mike Colpitts More than 1-million U.S. home mortgages underwent permanent modifications in 2011, according to the independent alliance of mortgage servicers Hope Now. The figure represents a steep decline of 40% from a year ago, but outpaces the number of foreclosures sold during the year. In December affiliates of the organization completed 80,000 loan… Continue reading Mortgage Modifications Slip, but Outpace Foreclosures

Refinancing Picks Up Speed on Lower Rates

By Mike Colpitts Refinancing picked-up speed as homeowners applied for lower mortgage rates in greater numbers to obtain lower mortgage payments even as home purchase financing slowed, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Almost half or 43% of those refinancing home mortgages chose shorter 15 or 20 year loans during the fourth quarter of 2011,… Continue reading Refinancing Picks Up Speed on Lower Rates

Record Low Mortgage Rates Hold Steady

By Mike Colpitts Record low mortgage rates remained at their all-time record low this week as a troubled world economy jittered financial markets, according to Freddie Mac. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate loan held steady at its lowest level in U.S. history for the second week in a row. The heavily watched 30-year mortgage averaged… Continue reading Record Low Mortgage Rates Hold Steady