Home Mortgage News and Information
Taking out your first mortgage is a significant stepping stone in life. After the process of meeting with the banks, filling out forms, going through all the credit checks, having all the surveys done and finally getting accepted the signing (of your life away) on the last page of the mortgage agreement is a surreal experience, and once over it’s time to sit back and think “I’ve finally grown up”.
There was a time, when property prices were at realistic levels, that monthly mortgage repayments were around the same as monthly …
Silicon Valley’s mortgage industry is poised for a shake-up under Congress’ financial overhaul, as an already shrinking brokerage industry might consolidate more and lenders take more market share.
The overhaul, which President Barack Obama signed into law July 21, revamps federal oversight of the nation’s financial services industry with new rules, restrictions and regulatory bodies. The law was proposed in the wake of the mortgage-fueled financial meltdown that sent the United States into its worst recession in decades.
Brokers say the law might make it increasingly difficult to meet loan quotas imposed …
A nationwide lending law aimed at curbing the excesses of so-called predatory lending practices is having effects widely felt by those in the mortgage business, but local lenders say the long-range benefits should ultimately outweigh the present-day headaches of implementing all the changes.
Among the requirements outlined by the Secure and Fair Enforcement (S.A.F.E.) for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008, mortgage brokers have until early next year to register with a newly-created nationwide database to track those in the business. They will also have to be fingerprinted.
Local lenders said these and …
Manhattan prosecutors won grand-slam convictions yesterday against four of the unsung villains of the housing-market collapse — a quartet of brokers and lawyers who ran a $100 million mortgage scam using properties and straw buyers from across the city.
DA Cyrus Vance Jr. called the case against AFG Financial Group and its principals one of the largest and most complex mortgage-fraud prosecutions in the country. To date, the prosecution has yielded 27 convictions.
Convicted of enterprise corruption, scheme to defraud, conspiracy, grand larceny and other felonies after a nine-week trial were AFG …
A former Ellsworth mortgage loan broker was found guilty of fraud and theft Wednesday by a Hancock County Superior Court, following an investment scam in which he bilked investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Eric Murphy Jr. was sentenced to nine years in prison, with all but five suspended, and ordered to pay $358,000 in restitution to his victims, according to a press release from Maine’s Office of the Attorney General. Murphy was charged with taking approximately $450,000 from four investors between October 2006 and April 2008 and using …
Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), which provides loan origination software, residential loan servicing software and commercial loan servicing software, was recognized by Mortgage Technology magazine as one of the year’s Top 50 Mortgage Service Providers.
FICS was recognized for meeting the four major criteria set by Mortgage Technology for inclusion in the listing: customer satisfaction, functionality, market share and a viable revenue model. FICS provides lenders with software to automate the life-cycle of mortgages, from loan origination software to servicing systems. “Today, more than ever, lenders need technology providers who …
Below are the top five companies in the Mortgage REITs industry as measured by lowest relative performance. This analysis was based on yesterday’s trading activity as we search for stocks that could be relative bargains.
Anworth Mortgage Asset (NYSE:ANH) ranks first with a loss of 6.57%; Capstead Mortgage (NYSE:CMO) ranks second with a loss of 4.05%; and MFA Financial (NYSE:MFA) ranks third with a loss of 2.14%.
Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY) follows with a loss of 1.9% and Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) rounds out the top five with a loss of 0.58%.
The reverse mortgage industry, hammered for high fees and high pressure sales tactics, has steadily improved its procedures and its image. Loan fees and interest rates have been lowered, consumer disclosure has improved, and the federal government’s insured reverse mortgage program has provided stability and credibility to the industry. A-list lenders have expanded their presence in the market; Wells Fargo and Bank America are the nation’s top two reverse mortgage lenders.
[See The 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term.]
Now that the industry is cleaning up its act, it is …
Mortgage approvals fell sharply in June, lending yet more weight to the theory of a dip in the UK housing market as the Nationwide index showed UK house prices starting to fall in July
Bank of England data show mortgage approvals for house purchases fell by 3.7 per cent to 47,643. The drop, following a very slight fall last month, appears to set UK mortgage approvals back on a declining trend, after several months of increases in the spring.The pattern of ups and downs in approval numbers is similar for remortgages …
Over the past months homeowners have seen the value of their home drop, in many areas across the nation, and as a result there has been a need for assistance to make these underwater mortgages more affordable. Since many of the nation’s top lenders are unwilling to use principal reductions on a wide scale to deal with underwater mortgages, an underwater mortgage refinance program has been created to assist homeowners.
While individual lenders may offer forms of refinancing for underwater homeowners, the Making Home Affordable Obama modification program has created an …