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Newrez launches mortgage JV with Georgia-based Keller Williams franchise

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Newrez has launched Onward Home Mortgage, a joint venture mortgage company in partnership with Keller Williams Georgia Legacy Group (GLCG). Through the partnership with agents at Keller Williams GLG, mortgage professionals at Onward Home Mortgage and Newrez will target borrowers in the Southeast United States. “This is a marriage of outstanding organizations that will now […]

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Seattle Hotel Preserves Memory of Dark Time for Japanese Americans

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During World War II, the basement of Seattle, Washington’s Panama Hotel was where local Japanese Americans stored their belongings before being incarcerated in camps. For the Panama’s current owner, preserving its dark history became her life’s work. Natasha Mozgovaya has the story. (Camera: Natasha Mozgovaya) details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted […]

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Xactus’ valuation solution approved to fulfill Fannie Mae’s property data collection orders

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Mortgage tech company Xactus announced that its valuation solution Appraisal Firewall X has met federal requirements and is capable of fulfilling Fannie Mae property data collection orders. Appraisal Firewall X connects mortgage lenders with vetted and trained property data collectors to deliver the value acceptance + property data and hybrid appraisal solutions, the company said […]

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Florida Bankers Association names Kathy Kraninger as CEO

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The Florida Bankers Association (FBA) has named Kathy Kraninger, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director during the Trump administration, to replace Alex Sanchez as chief executive officer.  Kraninger will be the fourth CEO of the trade group, which was established in 1888 to advocate for Florida banks.  In a social media post, Sanchez said the FBA “will continue […]

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Rocket Pro TPO raises conforming loan limits to $750,000 ahead of FHFA decision

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Rocket Pro TPO, the wholesale arm of Rocket Mortgage, on Monday raised agency conforming loan limits to $750,000, ahead of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) decision expected in November.  Amid fiercer competition in a shrinking mortgage market, other lenders may follow suit in the coming days or weeks, as in previous years. Companies are pressured to launch new […]

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Rithm to acquire MSR player Computershare Mortgage Services for $720M

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Real estate investment trust Rithm Capital Corp has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Computershare Mortgage Services Inc. for about $720 million, the companies announced Monday. The deal includes the purchase of Specialized Loan Servicing LLC.   The deal represents the second major acquisition that New York-based Rithm, which operates NewRez, Caliber and other businesses, has announced in the past three months. In […]

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Mortgage companies issue debt. Here’s why that’s a positive sign to the market

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Mortgage companies raising debt in the current high mortgage rates landscape is a sign that market conditions are improving, although a recovery from the downturn may come later than expected, analysts told HousingWire.  Executives have decided to improve liquidity to fund their businesses and investments, targeting mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) deals. And recent transactions show […]

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‘PAW Patrol’ Sequel Is Top Dog at Box Office

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After several quiet weeks in movie theaters, four films entered wide release over the weekend. “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” came out the top dog, with $23 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The performances of all four films – “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” “Saw X,” “The Creator” and “Dumb Money” […]

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Celebrated Syrian Author Khaled Khalifa Dead at 59

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Syrian writer and veteran government critic Khaled Khalifa has died of cardiac arrest at the age of 59 at his home in Damascus, a close friend told AFP.   Khalifa, who hailed from Maryamin in northwestern Aleppo province, was celebrated for his novels, television screenplays and newspaper columns, and honored with several of the Arab […]

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Why are mortgage rates surging?

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Why are mortgage rates rising? This is a question many people are asking — even some of the Federal Reserve members. We have had back-to-back weeks of the bond market getting wild since the key 10-year yield level of 4.34% broke higher. It didn’t help that the Fed was hawkish after the Fed meeting, as […]

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Mr. Cooper CEO Jay Bray on the challenges and opportunities in acquiring Home Point Capital

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The recently completed $300 million-plus acquisition of Home Point Capital by Mr. Cooper provided an attractive opportunity to bolster the company’s existing mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio, and it’s expected to boost the company’s bottom line within the next couple of quarters. This is according to Jay Bray, CEO of Mr. Cooper, in an interview […]

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Biden-Harris Administration Moves Forward with Student Debt Relief Negotiated Rulemaking to Deliver Support to as Many Borrowers as Possible as Quickly as Possible

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The Biden-Harris Administration marked a critical step forward in its efforts to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible through negotiated rulemaking under the Higher Education Act, even as extreme House Republicans threaten a government shutdown that would hurt families, communities, and our economy. The U.S. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this […]

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ICE envisions an unstoppable ‘life-of-loan’ platform with Black Knight acquisition

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Having completed the $12 billion acquisition of Black Knight, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is confident in evolving into a true life-of-loan platform: powering origination to final settlement, all in one unified digital ecosystem, executives said during its conference call with analysts. “By integrating Black Knight servicing, and robust data and analytics offering with ICE’s industry leading […]

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Advancing Opportunity through Building and Using Evidence

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By: Jessica Ramakis, Director, Grants Policy Office, Office of Planning Evaluation and Policy Development, and Matthew Soldner, Commissioner, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences & Evaluation Officer, U.S. Department of Education The U.S. Department of Education (ED) strives to support the education community–including families, students, educators, State and local […]

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Mortgage rates surge to highest level since 2000

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Mortgage rates climbed again this week as investors braced themselves for ‘higher-for-longer’ conditions following last week’s Fed meeting. Additionally, the yield on 10-year treasuries shot up to 4.6% on September 27 from 4.3% a week prior. Just before noon on Thursday, they were Freddie Mac‘s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming […]

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PRMG’s John Ashley on cybersecurity and privacy

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HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with John Ashley, chief information officer and chief information security officer at PRMG, to talk about what the company is building versus buying, and how regulators are ramping up privacy and security standards. Sarah Wheeler: Tell me a little bit about your background and what you’ve done […]

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DOJ announces $9M settlement with Washington Trust Company in redlining case

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Rhode Island-based chartered bank Washington Trust Company has agreed to pay $9 million to settle a redlining case with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the parties announced Wednesday. The agreement requires court approval.  Washington Trust, known as the oldest U.S. community bank, was accused of illegally avoiding providing mortgage services to majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island. […]

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Mortgage costs, lender denials jumped in 2022: CFPB

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Homebuyers faced surging mortgage costs, fees and monthly payments in 2022 amid a tightening monetary policy designed to combat persistent inflation. And because their income didn’t keep up, lenders’ denials for a home loan jumped last year, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report released Wednesday.  Unfortunately, there’s been no sign of relief in 2023. […]

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Fannie Mae announces new resources and assistance programs to address Latino homeownership access

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Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Fannie Mae announced on Wednesday that it will launch new programs and resources designed to tackle the homeownership gap experienced by the Latino community, designed to “to provide responsible access to housing and long-term sustainable homeownership opportunities.” The company also announced an expansion of its Special Purpose Credit Program (SPCP) pilot to […]

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Fintech Maxwell acquires digital lending platform Revvin 

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Maxwell, a Wells Fargo-backed mortgage fintech, announced Wednesday that it has struck a deal to acquire the digital lending platform Revvin (formerly known as MortgageHippo) to enhance its point-of-sale technology. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.  That is Maxwell’s second acquisition since its inception in 2015. Maxwell acquired LenderSelect Mortgage Group […]

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Mortgage Machine Services taps Dan McGrew to lead sales 

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Mortgage Machine Services, a digital origination technology provider, has appointed Dan McGrew as director of sales. In this role, McGrew will shoulder the responsibility of marketing the company’s digital products, including the flagship loan origination system (LOS) Mortgage Machine. “As Mortgage Machine Services continues to pioneer technology for the mortgage industry, we knew we needed […]

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Mr. Cooper sues ACI for damages related to unauthorized mortgage payments

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Mortgage servicer Nationstar, doing business as Mr. Cooper, has filed a lawsuit against electronic payment processing vendor ACI Payments related to the damages it allegedly suffered from unauthorized mortgage payments imposed on its customers two years ago.  In June, ACI Worldwide and one of its subsidiaries, ACI Payments, agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty, without admitting any wrongdoing, for illegally […]

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U.S. Department of Education Awards More Than $35 Million to Develop Personnel in Support of Children with Disabilities

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The U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has awarded more than $35 million in funding for 138 new awards supporting personnel preparation, ongoing professional learning, and leadership development to increase the number of well-prepared, diverse and effective personnel serving children with disabilities. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from […]

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President Biden, officials and housing groups warn of impending shutdown’s impacts

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With the U.S. House of Representatives Republican majority unable to bring government funding measures to the House floor for a vote, federal officials, lawmakers and agencies are preparing for a federal government shutdown that would take place after current appropriations expire at midnight on September 30. Organizations including the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), […]

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Acra Lending partners with solutions provider Tavant

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Acra Lending, a private mortgage lender, announced its integration with Tavant’s Touchless Lending Collateral Analysis.  This partnership marks a milestone in Tavant’s expansion into non-QM lending. It is also turning Acra’s business into a technology-first one, the statement said. Collateral Analysis is a proprietary product of Tavant’s Touchless Lending automation platform. It was designed to seamlessly integrate […]

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Plunk partners with two real estate industry marketing platforms

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Plunk, an AI-powered home analytics platform, has partnered with two real estate industry marketing companies, Union Street Media and Realforce, to scale its real-time data and analytics across multiple digital channels.  Plunk’s platform offers real-time insights into home valuation, risk assessment, and remodeling possibilities. The company is partnering with Union Street Media, a leader in business […]

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Mortgage tech firm Blend beefs up income verification capabilities

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Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs has added an assets-derived income capability to its existing “Blend Income” product.  The newest enhancement will allow lenders to have additional ways to verify more income sources – including social security benefits, pension distributions, military benefits, child support and alimony payments – far earlier in the application process than traditionally […]