Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Prospect Mortgage has been appointed as a new financing partner for Fannie Mae, as the government-sponsored enterprise takes steps to expand its HomePath Mortgage program. Through the collaboration with Fannie, Prospect will now be able to extend funding to borrowers who qualify for the mortgage loan initiative.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to change the guarantee fees (g-fees) the GSEs charge on single-family mortgages. Starting in 2013, g-fees will be higher in some states than others, according to a notice sent to the Federal Register. As per the current national model, "borrowers in states with lower default-related carrying costs are effectively subsidizing borrowers in states with higher costs," the FHFA stated. The proposed method of adjusting the g-fees considers three foreclosure aspects.

Talking heads call the mortgage interest-rate deduction a sacrosanct giveaway for the tax code, a loophole as sacred for Americans as, say, Social Security or Medicare - and just as electric to politicians. But a new survey out from Zillow suggests that may not be the case anymore. According to Zillow - which notably conducted the survey with economists and real-estate experts instead of your average homeowners - 10 percent believe the mortgage interest-rate deduction should be thrown out as soon as possible, while 50 percent believe it ought to be phased out over time.

Despite a $355 billion increase in the value of household real estate, household net worth fell $322 billion in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday in its quarterly Flow of Funds:http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/z1.pdf report.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 3,000 to 382,000 for the week ended September 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday, topping market expectations. Economists had predicted a smaller about 373,000 first-time claims. Continuing claims - reported on a one-week lag - dropped 32,000 to 3,272,000 from the prior week's 3,304,000, revised from the originally reported 3,283,000. The report - tracking the nation's unemployment rate and job creation - is compiled based on payroll.

As part of its High Touch Servicing Program, Fannie Mae entered a deal with Bank of America in July 2011 to purchase mortgage servicing rights for about 384,000 high-risk loans the GSE guaranteed. The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General recently reviewed the deal and the program in general. The idea behind Fannie Mae's High Touch Servicing program is to purchase the servicing rights for portfolios of high-risk loans it guarantees and transfer them to specialty servicers to mitigate losses.

Existing home sales rose 7.8 percent to 4.82 million in August the highest level since May 2010 the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single in August was $187,400, down $400 from July but up $16,200 or 9.5 percent from August 2011. Economists had expected the sale pace to be 4.55 million. The percentage gain in sales was the strongest since last August when sales improved 8.9 percent month-over-month, the strongest month-month gain of the year.

Single family starts increased 28,000 in August to 535,000, the highest level since April 2010, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Wednesday. Despite the increase total, housing starts improved just 17,000 as multi-family starts fell. Despite the increase total, housing starts improved just 17,000 as multi-family starts fell. Housing permits meanwhile dropped 9,000 to 802,000. Economists had expected total starts to increase to 768,000 and permits to slip to 803,000.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is receiving industry support for its revisions to mortgage-related guidelines on condominium properties. Having been adamant about the need for changes to the previous standards, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) recently spoke out in support of the FHA's decisions, which the group says will create greater stability in the condo market.

Lending specialist A10 Capital has announced the appointment of a new head of business development for the company's Tri-State market. Adding industry veteran Bruce Dashevsky, A10 is gaining a new leader for development efforts throughout Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.