Earlier this year, New Jersey-based mortgage broker Joe Racamato, president of Silex Financial Group Inc., changed his firm’s preapproval process for home purchase applicants. Racamato is now orienting his team to look closely at clients’ bank statements to find multiple — and often interest-free — installments of a few hundred or thousand dollars paid to […]
Tammy Richards Richards will oversee all operational aspects of Kind Lending, with a focus on scaling the company’s infrastructure and processes, the lender stated in a news release. In a prepared statement, Kind Lending President Yvonne Ketchum added that Richards will enhance operational efficiency as Kind continues to grow and innovate. According to the […]
Mortgage applications slumped heading into Memorial Day weekend. Applications decreased by 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending May 24, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. The MBA said the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose for the first time in four weeks, to 7.05% from 7.01%. (Other […]
Fathom Holdings, the parent company of cloud-based real estate brokerage Fathom Realty, appointed Jon Gwin as chief operating officer. He replaces Samantha Giuggio, who held the role since January 2022. Gwin brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously held executive positions at American Financial Network, Wachovia Bank, Wells Fargo and Accredited Home […]
Ocwen Financial Corp, the parent company of PHH Mortgage Corp. and its reverse mortgage subsidiary Liberty Reverse Mortgage, announced on Tuesday that its shareholders have approved the company’s planned rebranding initiative to Onity Group. The initial phase of the rebranding will first go into effect for the parent company on June 10 and will roll […]
Despite the potential for savings, more than half of all U.S. homebuyers (54%) who took out a mortgage for their most recent home purchase received only one loan offer. This indicates that a sizable portion of borrowers do not shop around for the best mortgage deal, according to new survey results from LendingTree. Twenty-two percent […]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) this month announced a settlement with Arkansas-based Bank of England over alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The bank has been issued an order to pay a […]
Mortgage rates kept sliding toward 7% as HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed the average 30-year fixed rate for conforming loans at 7.25% on Tuesday, below the rate of 7.34% one week ago. At the same time one year ago, the average 30-year conforming rate was 6.8%. Meanwhile, the 15-year conforming fixed rate averaged 6.77% on […]
Philadelphia-based Incenter Lender Services has promoted Sara Parrish to chief operating officer amid a plan to attract independent mortgage banks (IMBs) with variable-cost services. Parrish will remain as president of CampusDoor, an Incenter subsidiary that focuses on student loans. “A big part of my job is preparing us for scale,” Parrish said in an interview with HousingWire. “We are getting […]
A group of Republicans in the U.S. Congress sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) that opposes a plan for the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac to purchase and guarantee single-family, closed-end second mortgages. The document sent on Friday states that, if implemented, the “misguided” and “hastily executed” proposal has the potential […]
Just about a year ago, Chicago-based multichannel mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate announced its plans to expand its reverse mortgage division — including around the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase (H4P) product. Roughly five months after that announcement, the company named Ryan Ogata as the division’s new executive vice president. Ogata joined the reverse […]
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law on Tuesday that aims to improve the prospects for seniors who seek to age in place in their current homes. The law, which was supported by senior advocacy organization AARP, creates a state registry of home care providers to promote awareness and accessibility for home-based care. […]
U.S. Bank appointed John Hummel to lead its East market for retail home lending. Hummel, who previously led the correspondent and Housing Finance Agency (HFA) business at U.S. Bank, will now oversee a team of 750 sales managers and mortgage loan officers responsible for generating $7 billion in originations, according to a news release. John […]
Movement Mortgage, a multichannel mortgage lender, has appointed Joe Thompson as its new regional director. Thompson, recognized as a HousingWire Rising Star in 2018, will oversee more than 60 loan officers across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In his new role, Thompson will also be responsible for driving growth and expanding the company’s market presence […]
Most Americans still view homeownership as a key to building wealth, but for many, that piece of the American dream is on hold or out of reach thanks to the heavy burden of student debt. In fact, according to a recent study, millennials currently struggle with so much debt that 25% worry they won’t qualify […]
Sonu Mittal In their comments, trade groups expressed concerns about private players’ participation in the secondary market and the elevated risks the product poses to the enterprise. The MBA said it recognized that the product provides access to equity at lower rates and is a “cost-effective alternative to cash-out refinances.“ Also, if created, the “quick delivery […]
A study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) in 2022 aimed to assess the state of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program over a 20-year period. The study, released late last year, examined three core elements of HECM program effectiveness between 2000 […]
A reverse mortgage has potential utility for a homeowner in the right situation, but loan terms must be observed closely to remain in good standing and avoid the possibility of foreclosure. This is according to a look at the reverse mortgage product category published by Newsweek. As part of its recently launched “Newsweek Vault” subsite, […]
Under the leadership of acting secretary Adrianne Todman since March, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is focusing on launching initiatives to increase home supply, review existing rules in and ensure the agency is “getting the money out the door.“ “In Economics 101, the increase in interest rates should have been coexisting […]
Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a pretax net loss of $645 on each loan they originated in the first quarter of 2024 — a decrease from the average loss of $2,109 per loan in Q4 2023, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) newest quarterly performance report. “While the […]
To truly experience the most powerful room in housing, reserve your spot now to join us at The Gathering 2025. However, if you want a glimpse into what that room looks like in action, we compiled a handful of our sessions from this year’s event to share on demand. These select videos from our event […]
Dallas-based Certainty Home Lending, an affiliate of Guaranteed Rate, named Shadi Kamran as its new national business development executive. Kamran is based in Los Angeles and will support Certainty’s strategy and sales performance. “Our comprehensive product suite offers solutions for virtually every mortgage and home financing need,” Kamran said in a statement. “The technologically advanced […]
Mortgage fraud risk saw a modest uptick toward the end of 2023, according to CoreLogic’s latest Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index, although it remained largely stable on a year-over-year basis. The index reached 127 in Q4 2023, marking a 2.7% increase from the previous quarter, but compared to Q4 2022, the index decreased by 1%. Despite […]
The average cost for a retail mortgage lender to originate a loan reached $11,600 in the third quarter of 2023, up 35% — or nearly $3,000 per loan — when compared to fourth-quarter 2020, a period of low interest rates and high sales volume, according to a study published Tuesday by Freddie Mac. But the […]
In late 2023, just before the calendar turned, the financial markets were pricing in six Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024. After all, inflation had cooled and the Fed appeared to be gearing up to land the plane. For a few weeks, mortgage loan officers told HousingWire reporters that they were quoting some prospective borrowers […]
Online real estate auction marketplace Xome is launching a DIY sales platform for investors. Platform users will not need to use a real estate agent to complete their transaction, according to an announcement from the firm on Wednesday. Xome is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Mr. Cooper Group that provides mortgage servicers with end-to-end […]
Connecticut-based lender, servicer and asset manager Planet Home Lending has appointed Bill Shuler as executive vice president and chief information officer. In his new role, Shuler will focus on Planet’s technological growth and enhancements to its operational efficiency. “My focus has always been on creating pragmatic IT solutions that support dynamic business growth, and I am […]
The reverse mortgage industry is no stranger to novel marketing campaigns, and it has often made use of celebrity spokespeople to drum up conversation about its products. While consistency can count for a lot when it comes to marketing and messaging, novelty can also be a path toward greater engagement. New American Funding (NAF) is […]
Sandra Ho, a managing director at JPMorgan Chase, will join Wells Fargo next week as its head of home lending sales, Wells Fargo said in a statement Monday. It is a newly created role, and Ho will lead Wells Fargo’s consumer direct and distributed sales forces. She will report to Serhat Oztop, head of sales […]
Mortgage rates continued on their downward path as HousingWire’s Mortgage Rates Center showed the average 30-year fixed rate for conforming loans at 7.34% on Tuesday, below the rate of 7.43% one week ago. At the same time one year ago, the 30-year average rate was 6.66%. Meanwhile, the 15-year conforming fixed rate averaged 6.71% on Tuesday, […]
After two years of limited demand, private equity and insurance companies are increasing their allocations to single family residential mortgages. This increased flow of funds appears to be driven by strengthening macro factors that favor residential mortgages over other yield assets such as commercial real estate (CRE) and commercial (C&I) loans. These strong fund flows […]
NEXA Mortgage, the largest mortgage brokerage firm in the U.S., will pay its loan officers 100% of the commission splits “without any per-file fees or other hidden fees,” according to co-founder and CEO Mike Kortas. NEXA usually pays loan officers 220 basis points (bps) out of 275 bps on most loans. However, moving forward, it […]
Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is aware that some loan officers are taking creative — and, as detailed in a recent HousingWire investigation, often illegal — approaches to winning business. And he would be willing to reexamine the decade-old rule that prohibits LOs from misclassifying lead sources to lower their […]
California-based multichannel lender and servicer PennyMac Financial Services announced on Monday a proposed private offering of a $650 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes that the company says it will pay back with interest by 2030. The notes will “be fully and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured senior basis” by the company’s existing businesses, […]
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Monday published a new version of its Single Family Housing Handbook 4000.1, which includes numerous updates to its guidance for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program overseen by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). “Today’s update clarifies instructions, adds new guidance, and incorporates previously published […]
Buying into homeownership is already challenging enough for many Americans, but keeping — and maintaining — a home can come with serious challenges as a person gets older. This may lead an older homeowner to consider a product like a reverse mortgage, but potential borrowers should be aware of the product’s details and the informational […]
Proof, the remote online notarization (RON) platform formerly known as Notarize, has welcomed Pennsylvania notaries into its Notarize Network, the company announced earlier this month. Previously, Pennsylvania’s notaries could access Proof’s platform via its in-house notary capabilities for enterprises and notary-sourced transactions. With this expansion, Pennsylvania notaries now join their counterparts from Florida, Nevada, Texas […]
A recently released report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) that identifies vulnerabilities at nonbank mortgage servicers and makes some recommendations to avoid systemic risk is a ”tall order” for state regulators but isn’t only a ”wishful list,” according to Jason Cave, senior consultant at Patomak Global Partners. Cave spent nearly three decades in […]
New listings data has been moving lower over the last few weeks. I usually wouldn’t care too much about this as its a data line that can be volatile week to week but now it’s been three weeks. The moves haven’t been significant and our weekly pending contracts data picked up this week. But, we […]
Chase Home Lending, the consumer and commercial banking arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., has raised its closing guarantee from $5,000 to $20,000 until July 27, 2024, the bank announced on Thursday. The guarantee means that the bank promises an on-time closing on or before the contract closing date, or it will pay the homebuyer $20,000. […]
The East Coast and Midwest stand out as prime locations for veterans and current military service members, according to the 2024 Best Cities for Veterans to Live list compiled by Veterans United Home Loans. Tampa emerged as the top metro area for veterans. It was followed by Rochester, Minnesota; Wichita Falls, Texas; Fargo, North Dakota; […]
Financial planners are an important referral source for reverse mortgage professionals, and Finance of America (FOA) vice president of retirement strategies Steve Resch has been at the head of the company’s conversations with planners to help them understand how much utility a reverse mortgage could have for improving a client’s retirement. In this second part […]
The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) this week announced that Jonathan Scarpati, senior vice president of wholesale production at Finance of America (FOA), has joined its board of directors for the remainder of the 2024 term. Scarpati is a 20-year reverse mortgage industry veteran, having joined Senior Lending Network in 2003 as vice president […]
About two months after resigning as the 18th secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Marcia Fudge has joined law firm Taft as a partner and chair of public policy, the company announced this week. Fudge will “dedicate a portion of her time to the firm’s ongoing efforts to combat the […]
Donald R. Horton, founder and chairman of D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder by volume in the U.S., has died at the age of 74, the company announced on Friday morning. Board members have named David V. Auld as executive chairman, effective immediately. Horton, who was involved in the real estate and homebuilding industries since 1972, […]