Denver-based Incenter Mortgage Advisors is in the market with a $10 billion bulk-sales package of mortgage-servicing rights (MSRs) tied to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. The MSR offering involves 36,185 loans that are fairly evenly split between Fannie- and Freddie-backed mortgages. The weighted average age of the loans is 10.8 months, with an average interest rate of 2.898%, according to […]
Rocket Companies announced this week that its CEO Jay Farner has stepped away from his role as Rocket Mortgage CEO, to assume the role of CEO of Rocket Central, the mortgage company’s fintech platform. Farner assumed his new role Jan. 1, according to a press release from the Detroit-based company, and will retain his role […]
A federal law mandates that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac help households on moderate, low, or very low income. The government-sponsored enterprises must do this by setting a plan every three years, dubbed Duty to Serve, that provides lending liquidity and preservation goals for manufactured, rural, and affordable housing. But according to the Federal Housing […]
The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.22% during the week ending Jan. 6, up from 3.11% the week prior, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS Mortgage Survey. A year ago, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.65%. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.43% last week, up from 2.33% the week prior. A year […]
Vaccinated, masked and ready-to-revel New Orleans residents will usher in Carnival season Thursday with a rolling party on the city’s historic streetcar line, an annual march honoring Joan of Arc in the French Quarter and a collective, wary eye on coronavirus statistics. Carnival officially begins each year on Jan. 6 — the 12th day after […]
SitusAMC President Michael Franco SitusAMC subsidiary Securent is expanding its reach into the private-label market with plans to soon introduce a loan-defect insurance product for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) transactions, according to executives from both companies. The initial focus of Securent, which was launched late last year, has been to provide loan-level loan-defect insurance for third-party mortgage originators […]
The Grammy Awards were postponed Wednesday due to what organizers called “too many risks” due to the omicron variant. No new date has been announced. The ceremony had been scheduled for January 31 in Los Angeles with a live audience and performances. The Recording Academy said it made the decision “after careful consideration and analysis with city […]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency introduced new upfront fees on Wednesday for some high-balance and second-home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Upfront fees for high balance loans will increase between 0.25% and 0.75%, tiered by loan-to-value ratio. For second home loans, the upfront fees will increase between 1.125% and 3.875%, also tiered […]
Some Federal Housing Administration-approved mortgage servicers have routinely flouted the agency’s loan modification program, according to Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and 20 other state attorneys general. The attorneys general wrote in a Dec. 21 letter that a number of mortgage servicers employed by FHA-approved lenders failed to adequately implement loan modification options the […]
Mortgage applications decreased 2.7% from two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association survey for the week ending Dec. 31, 2021. The results include adjustments to account for the holidays. The holiday adjusted Refinance Index decreased 2% from two weeks ago and was 40% lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally […]
Exactly two years after the World Health Organization issued an alert about “a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause” in the central Chinese city of Wuhan that evolved into the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world is now struggling under the weight of the fast-moving omicron variant of the coronavirus that sparked the disease. […]
The most wonderful time of the year, as the song would have us believe, comes to a close with Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, Jan. 6. I do hope everyone had a joyous holiday season, spending some relaxing time with family and friends. The holiday season is winding down. So is the 24-month refinance […]
loanDepot announced this week that it will begin servicing Ginnie Mae loans in-house, following a 2021 decision to do the same for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-backed loans. The top-ranked nonbank lender said in a press release that servicing Ginnie Mae loans “carries great significance” because the agency is the primary guarantor of securities containing Federal […]
Pontiac, Michigan-based United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) capitalized on a booming private-label market in 2021 by sponsoring its inaugural securities transaction this past May, a prime jumbo deal involving 508 mortgages with an aggregate principal balance of $351.9 million. That was the start for the nonbank lender, which dominates the nation’s wholesale mortgage lending sector with an estimated […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education (Department), that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is giving states the option of waiving the portion of the commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills test that requires applicants to identify the “under the hood” engine components. All other components […]
Mali is well known for its mudbrick Sudano-Sahelian architecture, which is also seen in buildings in the capital, Bamako, one of the fastest growing cities in Africa. But rapid modernization is also threatening the unique structures and the face of the city, as Annie Risemberg reports from Bamako. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content […]
Hollywood closed out 2021 with more fireworks at the box office for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which topped all films for the third straight week and already charts among the highest grossing films ever. But even with all the champagne popping for “No Way Home,” the film industry heads into 2022 with plenty of reason […]
Britain recognized the scientists and medical chiefs at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19 in Queen Elizabeth’s annual New Year’s honors list, while James Bond actor Daniel Craig was given the same award as his famous onscreen character. Craig, who bowed out from playing the fictional British spy after five outings following the release […]
Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Jones, the Boston Celtics’ “Mr. Clutch” whose sharp shooting fueled the league’s longest dynasty and earned him 10 NBA titles — second only to teammate Bill Russell — has died, the team said. He was 88. Jones died Thursday night in Florida, where he had been hospitalized in failing health, […]
Comedic actress Betty White, who capped a career of more than 80 years by becoming America’s geriatric sweetheart after Emmy-winning roles on television sitcoms The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, has died, less than three weeks shy of her 100th birthday, People magazine reported Friday, quoting her agent. Her agent and close […]
Pope Francis ended the year by attending a vespers service Friday where he praised those who responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with responsibility and solidarity rather than an attitude of “every person for themselves.” The pope did not preside at the service as had been expected, leaving that to a senior Vatican cardinal. The Vatican […]
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]
This week’s HW+ member spotlight features Sarah DeCiantis, chief marketing officer at United Wholesale Mortgage. As a 2019 Vanguard and Women of Influence, DeCiantis is the catalyst behind United Wholesale Mortgage’s strategic approach to marketing, which has helped the company become the No. 1 wholesale lender. DeCiantis oversees advertising, public relations, social media, creative and […]
The new year signals the beginning of the Oscars race. Oscar nominees distinguish themselves in categories such as film direction, cinematography and acting. The message of these films is also significant, especially in relation to the times we live in. VOA’s Penelope Poulou looks at some of these promising contenders. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received […]
Good riddance to 2021. Let 2022 bring fresh hope. That was a common sentiment Friday as people around the world got ready to welcome in the new year. In many places, plans for New Year’s Eve celebrations were muted or canceled for the second straight year due to a surge of coronavirus infections, this time […]
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]
New York City will ring in 2022 in Times Square as planned despite record numbers of COVID-19 infections in the city and around the nation, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday. “We want to show that we’re moving forward, and we want to show the world that New York City is fighting our way through […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Vermont’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to the state. Vermont’s plan details how the state is using and plans to use ARP ESSER funds to sustain the safe operation of schools […]
Amanda Gorman is ending her extraordinary year on a hopeful note. The 23-year-old poet, whose reading of her own “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration made her an international sensation, released a new work Wednesday to mark the end of 2021. “New Day’s Lyric” is a five-stanza, 48-line resolution with themes of […]
John Madden, the Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for three decades, died Tuesday morning, the NFL said. He was 85. The league said he had died unexpectedly, and it did not provide a cause. Madden gained fame in a decadelong […]
The Rev. Athanasius Chidi Abanulo — using skills honed in his African homeland to minister effectively in rural Alabama— determines just how long he can stretch out his Sunday homilies based on who is sitting in the pews. Seven minutes is the sweet spot for the mostly white and retired parishioners who attend the English-language […]
This article is part of our HousingWire 2022 forecast series. After the series wraps early next year, join us on February 8 for the HW+ Virtual 2022 Forecast Event. Bringing together some of the top economists and researchers in housing, the event will provide an in-depth look at the predictions for next year, along with […]
Blank check company Aurora Acquisition Corp. said on Monday that Vishal Garg is still Better.com‘s CEO, and that it will keep the proposed merger with the digital mortgage lender. The communication comes after Garg took leave early this month in response to an onslaught of negative media coverage because he laid off 900 employees via […]
The hit new “Spider-Man” became the first billion-dollar-grossing film of the pandemic era over the Christmas weekend, reaching the milestone while holding firmly to the North American box office top spot, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” British star Tom Holland’s third solo outing in the wildly popular role, has grossed […]
Three members of the K-pop superstar group BTS have tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from abroad, their management agency said. RM and Jin were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday evening, the Big Hit Music agency said in a statement. It earlier said another member, Suga, tested positive for the virus on Friday. All […]
“There is nothing in the world like the food you can find in Louisiana,” Chef Isaac Toups, owner of popular New Orleans restaurant Toups Meatery, told VOA. “It’s such a unique mix of so many different cultures that converged here from around the globe. They brought their ideas about food with them and made a […]
Keenan Scott II made his Broadway acting debut this week in “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” which is a remarkable milestone. It’s even more remarkable when you consider he also wrote it. The actor-turned-playwright was pressed into acting duties at the last moment Tuesday night to keep his show open while all around Broadway battles […]
As we turn the page on 2021, it’s important to check in with ourselves and identify what we are leaving in the past and what we are taking with us into the new year. To some, that exercise might translate to forming resolutions. I’m taking a slightly different approach, however, by opting to reflect on […]
For over four decades, novelist Dan Hurley has been writing 60-second-long stories about New Yorkers he met on the street. But apart from amusing passers-by with his literary talent, Hurley also happens to be an award-winning science writer. Anna Nelson met with Hurley on the streets of the Big Apple. Anna Rice narrates her story. […]
Deep in the desert of the United Arab Emirates, the moment that camel breeders had been waiting for arrived. Families hauled their camels through wind-carved sands. Servers poured tiny cups of Arabic coffee. Judges descended on desert lots. A single question loomed over the grandstand: Which camels were most beautiful? Even as the omicron variant […]
Last week’s announcement from the Department of Housing and Urban Development cleared the way for lenders to adopt targeted lending programs, but so far, they are treading carefully. The pronouncement was more than 40 years coming, and arrived after both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Housing Finance Agency had publicly weighed in […]
A former employee alleged that an executive at Atlanta-based mortgage lender Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) sexually assaulted her, and executives fostered a culture of widespread sexual harassment at the firm. Former mortgage loan processor Tiar McCart claims, in a suit filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia in October, that […]
Author Joan Didion, whose essays, memoirs, novels and screenplays chronicled contemporary American society, as well as her grief over the deaths of her husband and daughter, has died at the age of 87. The cause of death was Parkinson’s disease, her publisher Knopf said Thursday in a statement. Didion first emerged as a writer […]
A neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn is stunning visitors with its spectacular Christmas lights. The Dyker Heights neighborhood boasts some of the most over-the-top holiday displays. Elena Wolf takes us there in this story narrated by Anna Rice. details ⇒ BusinessMediaguide.Com portal received this content from this noted web source: VOANews.Com
The delinquency landscape continues to improve on a monthly basis, with the total delinquency rate in the nation falling to 3.59% in November, according to Black Knight’s November mortgage monitor published this week. In October, the analytics vendor clocked the national delinquency rate at 3.74%. The 15-basis point improvement continues to point to the effectiveness […]