Wall Street Journal, Aug. 30, 2019–Ben Eisen (subscription)”Contracts for deed,” prone to abuse, are often only choice for buyers shut out of mortgage market.
Category: Top National News
Will GSE Reform Get Some Clarity from Long-Awaited Blueprints?
American Banker, Aug. 29, 2019–Hannah Lang (free article) The mortgage industry will be looking for answers when the Trump administration unveils its plans to shake up the housing finance system and end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But the blueprints could raise just as many questions. (MBA mention)
Lenders are Making More Money on Mortgages than They Have in Three Years
HousingWire, Aug. 29, 2019–Kelsey RamirezLenders reported making a profit on mortgages in the second quarter. In fact, according to a report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, lenders made the highest profit per loan they’ve seen since 2016.
Historic Asset Boom Passes by Half of Families
Wall Street Journal, Aug. 30, 2019–David Harrison, Maureen Linke (subscription)The decadelong economic expansion has showered the U.S. with staggering new wealth driven by a booming stock market and rising house prices. But that windfall has passed by many Americans.
U.S. Charges Reverse Mortgage Lender Live Well’s Ex-CEO with Fraud
Reuters, Aug. 29, 2019–Jonathan StempelMichael Hild, 44, who was also Live Well’s chief executive, generated more than $24 million of compensation tied to the scheme, which ran from September 2015 to May 2019, according to federal prosecutors in Manhattan who announced the charges.
Ditech Sale Blocked by Homeowner Claims of Botched Mortgages
National Mortgage News, Aug. 29, 2019 (subscription)Federal bankruptcy Judge James Garrity Jr. rejected the plan after two days of hearing evidence and arguments earlier this month from lawyers for Ditech and a consumer creditor committee. The committee asserted the company shouldn’t be able to sell its businesses if it meant wiping out the ability of homeowners to correct what they say are errors related to their loans.
What this Mortgage Expert Says is Behind the Refinancing Boom
CNBC, Aug. 28, 2019Robert Broeksmit, CMB, Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO, joins “Squawk on the Street” to discuss the wave of mortgage refinancing as rates fall.
Homeowners are Sitting on a Record Amount of Cash, But They’re Not Really Tapping It
CNBC, Aug. 28, 2019–Diana Olick”Savings have increased significantly since before the Great Recession, so the household balance sheet is just in a better position,” said Bob Broeksmit, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Perhaps the need to tap that equity is a little bit lower and there is a little bit more discipline among consumers.”
Unconventional Mortgages Attract Warning From Regulator
Wall Street Journal, Aug. 29, 2019–Lalita Clozel (subscription)Asset-depletion loans, also known as asset-dissipation loans, are part of a small but growing subset of the mortgage market that includes subprime loans and other riskier products. They assume borrowers draw from assets to cover a mortgage, rather than just income.
Consumer Groups, Lenders Find Common Cause Against CFPB Mortgage Provision
American Banker, Aug. 28, 2019–Kate Berry (subscription)Though advocates and industry are rarely aligned, they are starting to coalesce around a plan that would call for the elimination of the CFPB’s 43% debt-to-income limit as part of its qualified mortgage rule.