Rocket Mortgage and its wholesale arm Rocket Pro TPO will reduce homebuyers’ monthly mortgage payments by one full percentage point for the first year of their loan. Dubbed the “Inflation Buster” program, Rocket aims to give borrowers a reprieve to combat high inflation and affordability challenges, the company said in a statement Friday. Rocket Mortgage […]
Fannie Mae has completed the sale of its 27th reperforming-loan offering since the inaugural transaction in 2016. The deal represents Fannie Mae’s fourth reperforming-loan sale this year and involves a total of some 6,060 loans valued at $986.4 million. The offering — originally announced August 11 and dubbed FNMA 2022-RPL4 — was divided into three loan pools that were […]
Looking for a quick and easy way to stay up-to-date on mortgage lending news, trends and technology? Podcasts are a great resource for mortgage professionals to continue learning, with shows covering industry updates, business advice and the experiences of other pros in the mortgage industry. The podcasts below can be found across a variety of […]
Having open and honest conversations around how to navigate your personal and professional life is more important than ever, as everyone works to find harmony in their life. At HW Annual on Oct. 3, Dalila Ramos, founder of Love and Tacos Media, will lead a session on work life balance, addressing the realities that many […]
Another single-family rental (SFR) securitization deal sponsored by a large institutional player, Progress Residential, is slated to hit the private-label market this month, bringing the total securitization-deal count for Progress to seven so far this year. This latest transaction, Progress 2022-SFR7, will be secured by a single $426.8 million fixed-rate loan backed by mortgages on 1,434 […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced awards totaling over $7 million to eight statewide organizations under the 2022 Competitive Grants for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program, underscoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance and increase parent and family engagement in local education. As the 2022-23 school year begins, and to help […]
The latest weekly survey data from Freddie Mac shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average of 6.02% this week ahead of the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated interest rate hike next week. Daily mortgage rate calculators are showing 30-year fixed rates at 6.30% and above. A year ago at this time, rates averaged 2.86%. […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) grants to two HBCUs following the recent spate of bomb threats. Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, and Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, were awarded over $420,000 and $80,000 in Project SERV grants respectively. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal […]
A federal jury on Wednesday convicted R. Kelly of several child pornography and sex abuse charges in his hometown of Chicago, delivering another legal blow to a singer who used to be one of the biggest R&B stars in the world. Kelly, 55, was found guilty on three counts of child pornography and three counts […]
loanDepot continues to make changes to its top management as it navigates a sharp workforce reduction in a shrinking mortgage market. The California-based mortgage lender announced on Wednesday it has hired Gregory Smallwood, former general counsel and executive vice president of Caliber Home Loans, to be chief legal officer and corporate secretary. The announcement comes […]
Cenlar FSB, the nation’s second-largest mortgage servicer and largest sub-servicer, hired Gary Gaskin as vice president of transfer services. Gaskin will be responsible for areas of loan boarding, acquisitions and transfers as well as improving operation efficiencies, the firm said. The executive brings more than 22 years of experience in servicing. He was most recently […]
By: Cori Walls, International Baccalaureate film & Digital Video Production teacher for Palm Beach County School District in Delray Beach, FL Why is it that so many films have a backstory of a child losing a parent? Or that many superheroes are vindicating the death of their parents? This is where art is the reality for […]
Demand for mortgage loans declined last week as mortgage rates reached their highest level since 2008, crossing the 6% threshold. The market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume by the Mortgage Bankers Association, fell 1.2% for the week ending Sep. 9, compared to the previous week. It was also down 64% compared […]
With housing affordability at an all-time low and accelerating consumer prices disproportionately affecting lower- and middle-income families, the Mortgage Bankers Association this week called on the White House and the Federal Housing Administration to reduce annual mortgage insurance premiums. In a letter addressed to the National Economic Council, the mortgage trade group said the combination […]
Home-equity lending is on a roll this year, with the combined volume of home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and traditional closed-end home equity loans up 47% from January to May of 2022, compared with the same period last year. Nearly $69 billion in HELOC credit limits and $27 billion in closed-end home-equity loans were originated […]
Lending standards tightened in August amid a worsening economic outlook and signs of cooling in home-price growth. The mortgage credit availability index (MCAI) fell marginally by 0.5% to 108.3 in August from the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). A decline in MCAI, benchmarked to 100 in March 2012, indicates that lending […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education is announcing an additional $2.5 million investment to centers that serve a critical role for parents and families of students with disabilities across the nation. These supplemental grants to Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) ensure that all families have the information and training they need to participate effectively […]
A look at the fashion and passion of the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Monday. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
Emmy Awards host Kenan Thompson and the ceremony’s producers are promising a feel-good event — a phrase not applicable to several of the top nominated shows. The best drama contenders include the violently dystopian “Squid Game,” bleak workplace satire “Severance” and “Succession,” about a powerful and cutthroat family. Even comedy nominee “Ted Lasso,” the defending […]
With all the talk about a hot housing market and changes on the horizon thanks to increasing mortgage rates, it can be hard to forget that these market-wide changes have a real effect on real people, especially those dealing with loss or health problems in their families. Mortgage Bankers Association’s charity, Opens Doors Foundation, recognizes […]
California-based mortgage lender loanDepot has named Joseph Grassi, an industry veteran who spent two decades at Fannie Mae, as its chief risk officer, the company announced Monday. The executive will enhance the mortgage lender’s risk management program, aligning loanDepot’s initiatives with those of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), according to the company. Starting immediately in […]
Inflation is expected to continue “to decline across all horizons” over the next year while home prices, too, are projected to decline “sharply” to the lowest level since July 2020, according to the most recent Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The median one-year inflation expectation, the August SCE […]
By: Lauren Jewett, NBCT (Special Education Teacher/New Orleans, LA) My mother grew up as one of nine children. Her youngest sibling, my aunt Cheryl, was born with Down Syndrome. At the time of Cheryl’s birth in 1962, the doctors told my grandparents that Cheryl would only live until the age of three, and as such, […]
Fraud risk for mortgages declined 7.5% in the second quarter for this year compared to 12 months ago, but income and property fraud incidents are likely to rise, CoreLogic forecasts. In the second quarter of 2022, about 1 in 131 mortgage applications contained fraud while 1 in 120 applications were fraudulent in the same period […]
As mortgage interest rates crept back up in August after retreating the previous month, rate lock volume dipped to a four-year low. Total lock volumes were down 8.9% from July, led by a 13.9% decline in rate/term refinance locks, according to Black Knight’s originations market monitor report. Rate/term refi locks dropped 94.5% year over year. […]
Carlos Alcaraz used his combination of moxie and maturity to beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the U.S. Open final on Sunday to earn his first Grand Slam title at age 19 and become the youngest man to be ranked No. 1. Alcaraz is a Spaniard who was appearing in his eighth […]
Strolling along the ancient ruins of Hatra in Iraq’s north, dozens of visitors admired the site, where local initiatives seek to turn over a new leaf after a brief but brutal jihadist rule. Designated an endangered world heritage site by UNESCO, Hatra dates back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. It is a two-hour […]
Steven Spielberg finally turned the camera on his own childhood — from his parents’ troubled marriage to anti-Semitic bullying — as his new movie “The Fabelmans” received its world premiere on a star-studded Saturday at the Toronto film festival. Considered one of Hollywood’s greatest living directors, with classics from “Jaws” to “E.T.”, Spielberg told a rapturous audience […]
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to win her second Grand Slam title of the year with a straight sets victory in the U.S. Open final on Saturday. Polish star Swiatek overcame a spirited second set from fifth seed Jabeur to win 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in 1 hour, 52 minutes at Arthur […]
This Monday, the cast and crew of the Broadway musical “Come From Away” have an appointment, as usual, with an aircraft carrier. Every year to honor Sept. 11, they help box thousands of meals for food banks across the city and perform for the volunteers aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. “9/11 was a worldwide event. It […]
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras’s epic documentary about photographer Nan Goldin and her activism against the Sackler family and their art connections has been awarded the Golden Lion for best film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. Poitras thanked the festival for recognizing that “documentary is cinema” at the ceremony Saturday […]
NEXA Mortgage, the largest mortgage brokerage in the country, this week cut ties with the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), claiming the trade group fails to address bullying and lacks proper governance. Mike Kortas, the controversial CEO and co-founder who himself is no stranger to starting online scraps, said other community members, including smaller […]
Ben Slayton’s Legacy Home Loans, the largest Black-led mortgage banking firm in the country, has launched a special purpose credit program for prospective Black borrowers in six cities across the country. The SPCP, called “closing the gap,” permits a 1% down payment with a free appraisal, free home warranty program, free homebuying counseling and financial […]
Following the latest round of layoffs, Homepoint has shrunk its workforce from about 4,000 workers in summer of 2021 to about 1,000 in fall of 2022. The wholesale lender last week laid off 913 employees, according to a review of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notices filed in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Texas. Over the […]
Pennymac followed the tracks of Rocket Pro TPO and United Wholesale Mortgage in raising conforming loan limits ahead of the Federal Housing Finance Agency‘s (FHFA) decision to do so in November. The country’s third-largest purchase mortgage lender, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, will be increasing conventional loan limits to $715,000 across all channels, Pennymac said […]
The pace of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuance in the nonagency market slowed considerably in July and August as rising interest rates and Federal Reserve MBS-purchase policy have combined to dampen the momentum exhibited in the private-label space in 2021 and over the first half of this year. In July and August of this year, there was a […]
An influential banking trade group this week argued that the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) should not permit nonbank lenders and real estate investment trusts to become members of the $1 trillion Federal Home Loan Bank system. In a statement issued Tuesday, Rebecca Romero Rainey, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said the […]
People who invest in technology often ask the question: is this a “nice to have,” or a “need to have?” Few have the resources to invest in technologies they don’t need. Often, this analysis comes down to the worst case scenario. “What’s the worst that can happen if we don’t invest in this technology?” When […]
Home prices have started to drop, but the decline has not been significant enough to brighten pessimism about the housing market. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI), which tracks the housing market and consumer confidence to sell or buy a home, dropped by 0.8 points in August to 62, marking its sixth consecutive decline. […]
Mortgage rates rose 23 basis points this week, even closer to the 6% mark, as the market reacts to the Fed’s ongoing aggressive policies to combat persistent inflation. According to the latest survey from Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average of 5.89%, up from last week’s 5.66%. A year ago this time, […]
Verification provider Xactus and income and employment data solution firm Truv teamed up to court more mortgage lenders that will speed up the mortgage approval process. Xacuts’ current verification capabilities will be augmented with Truv’s income and employment data, Truv, formerly known as Citadel API, said. The firm expects the partnership to allow mortgage lenders […]
Cleveland-based KeyBank, a mortgage lender and servicer with $187 billion in assets, is facing a lawsuit filed in federal court in Ohio stemming from a recent data breach that compromised its customers personal information, including social security numbers. The litigation, which seeks class-action status, alleges that a KeyBank vendor, Kennesaw, Georgia-based Overby-Seawell Co. (OSC), was the target of […]
Top 10 lender and servicer Freedom Mortgage has trimmed its workforce across multiple rounds of layoffs this year and continues to “offshore” some jobs, former employees tell HousingWire. In response to falling origination volume, the New Jersey-based mortgage company has conducted at least four rounds of layoffs this year – in March, May and August, […]
Price corrections are coming to housing markets across the United States, Black Knight said following July’s home price decline from June. Relatedly, tappable home equity is expected to pull back in the third quarter as equity-rich markets already saw declines in July. Home prices in July slipped 0.77% from June, marking the largest single-month decline […]
One of history’s most famous composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has a Ukrainian connection. His son lived in Lviv for three decades. So Ukrainian musicians, with a bit of help from the caretakers of Mozart’s legacy, put together a very special tribute. Omelyan Oshchudlyak has the story. Camera: Yuriy Dankevych details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content […]