Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

MortgageAuction, launched in November 2012, offers online auctions to match mortgage borrowers with the lowest mortgage rates and fees from competing lenders.

360 Mortgage Group, a privately owned mortgage banker based in Austin, Texas, announced the hiring of Kim Bessette and Jennifer Warthen. The two new wholesale account executives will focus their efforts on supporting the mortgage broker communities in Florida and California, respectively.

Wells Fargo has another jewel to add to its crown: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) ranked the bank as the top commercial/multifamily mortgage originator for 2012. Among other categories: Bank of America Merrill Lynch was the top originator for commercial bank loans, while Red Mortgage Capital, LLC was No. 1 for loans guaranteed by Ginnie Mae or the Federal Housing Administration. Cohen Financial was the top originator for specialty finance.

Veros' future home price index (HPI) forecast projects significant strengthening and improvement across most markets.

According to a report from the FHFA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Freddie Mac and eight of its largest servicers, which service 70 percent of the GSE's mortgages, received over 34,000 complaints that became escalated cases during a 14-month time period ending November 30, 2012. In examining those cases, FHFAOIG says it found a failure to implement guidelines for escalated complaints. For example, seven out of the eight servicers did not resolve all escalated cases within the 30-day requirement.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) Home Price Index rose 0.6 percent in January, the agency reported. The monthly increase recorded in January is just slightly above December's downwardly-revised increase of 0.5 percent. While prices continue their upward trend nationally, one-third of the nine U.S. Census Divisions recorded price declines in January--the East South Central Division, the New England Division, and the Middle Atlantic Division.

WCS Lending, a privately held mortgage bank headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, named Ivan Choi as head of affinity relations--a position created with him in mind.

One of the most interesting results of poring through economic data reports is that the details often tell a different story than the headline. Coverage of the recent report on housing permits and starts, for example, was dominated by the increases in both metrics, suggesting a revival of the housing sector, a response some analysts suggested is due to tight inventories of existing-single family homes on the market. However, a closer look revealed a more important phenomenon.

The Real Estate Roundtable, a group of leaders representing real estate businesses and trade associations, published a release urging lawmakers to take a pro-growth approach to tax reform that considers the commercial real estate (CRE) sector's role in the larger economy. In a letter, the group says a restructuring of taxes should recognize "commercial real estate's vast economic contributions" and include "transition rules" to minimize disruptions to real estate.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Improving Markets Index (IMI) showed no signs of slowing down in March.