fannie mae: Fannie Mae: Making Money While Making Loans - 11/10/12 02:44 AM
According to reports on Mortgage News Daily, Fannie Mae is reporting net income of $1.8 billion in the third quarter of 2012 from $5.70 billion, which is an improvement from the third quarter of 2011 when the company reported a net loss of $5.1 billion on $5.78 billion in revenue. For the first time in six years the company which has been under the government’s control is expected to report a profit following the $9.7 billion in net income reported this year. It is expected that with the company will be able to pay dividends to the treasury for the $116.1 … (3 comments)

fannie mae: Is A 760 Credit Score High Enough? - 10/04/12 10:17 PM
 
Ron Phipps, Immediate Past President NAR, quipped, “that means 15% of potential buyers cannot qualify (for a mortgage).”  What exactly did Ron mean?
In his recent post in the National Association of Realtors weekly blog, he was referring to the change in underwriting standards and the powerfully negative impact it has on his client base, home buyers.
Specifically, Ron notes that prior to 2004, the credit score needed to qualify for a mortgage that involved Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae was 720; today the credit score needed is 760. 
Based on whatever math Ron performed, he surmised that 15% … (0 comments)

fannie mae: Higher Mortgage Fees On The Way? - 09/13/12 11:20 PM
 
Despite record low interest rates, borrowers may have to pay higher mortgage fees if they live in the wrong state.  Given that nearly all mortgage companies have had to contend with long and growing processing times to complete foreclosures, a measure is being suggested to account for the cost of that processing time and activity. 
The overseer of the government controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Mr. Edward DeMarco, said that the firms need to increase the fees they charge to guarantee mortgages in states where it was costlier for them to deal with bad debt.  What … (4 comments)

fannie mae: Jumbo Loan Market As A Leading Housing Market Indicator? - 09/03/12 08:52 PM
                Could the return of jumbo loan market signal the easing of credit markets for the housing market in general, and specifically be a leading market indicator? 
As reports about the recovery of the housing market continue to grow, larger high-cost home loans (referred to as jumbo loans) not guaranteed by the federal government are making a comeback. Reports indicate that lenders gave out $38 billion in private high-cost mortgages during the second quarter of 2012, which is an improvement of 65% from a year earlier and the highest quarterly dollar amount since the first quarter of 2008 according to … (2 comments)

fannie mae: Which Way Did That Foreclosed Home Go? - 09/03/12 08:46 PM
 
Over the last few months there has been talk about the low inventory of homes for sale in many markets. There have even been suggestions that the government and banks were deliberately holding back inventory and waiting for home prices to increase.  A recent disclosure by Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage finance giant, indicated that there might be a reason why more foreclosed properties are not readily available in the market . Reports show that only 23% of Fannie Mae’s foreclosed homes were up for sale in the second quarter which was a decline of 5% from December last year. … (1 comments)

fannie mae: Bye, Bye Ms American Fannie, Freddie - 08/18/12 03:25 AM
 
 
Friday was a big day in the world of government-backed mortgages, as an announcement was made by to speed up the wind down of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
 
According to an article in DSNEWS, “In addition to reducing the GSEs’ mortgage portfolios in a more timely manner, these modifications are designed to ensure that each firm’s earnings benefit taxpayers and help reform the housing finance market.”
 
“With today’s announcement, we are taking the next step toward responsibly winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while continuing to support the necessary process of repair and recovery … (4 comments)

fannie mae: Near-Record Earnings For Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - 08/14/12 12:09 PM
 
Fannie Mae reported a $5.1 billion second-quarter profit; it’s largest since being taken over by the government in 2008. The gain followed a $2.7 billion profit in the first quarter and a $2.9 billion loss in 2011's second quarter. By comparison, in the same quarter a year-ago, Fannie added $6.5 billion to its loss reserves due to a soft housing market. The government’s recent reports are a good sign that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, seem to be stabilizing after requiring government aid in 2008 to avoid collapse. This week, Freddie Mac also reported a $3 billion profit for the … (0 comments)

fannie mae: One Difference in Short Sale Realtors and REO Realtors - 07/15/12 09:31 AM
 
 
In an earlier post, Not All REO Brokers Are Created Equal, some of the differences between REO Brokers and non-REO brokers were identified.  Adam Wavrunek, Domain Realty's owner, highlighted what responsibilities he has to deal with since he is an approved Fannie Mae vendor for Fannie Mae REOs.   
To the general public, they may not realize that REO brokers and Realtors are quite different from Short Sale Brokers and Realtors.  Compared to the hands-on 'field' responsibilities of maintaining REO homes, condos and income properties until they are sold, many times short sales are real estate which remain occupied … (0 comments)

fannie mae: Not All REO Brokers Are Created Equal - 07/14/12 04:23 AM
Earlier this week, I was speaking with Adam Wavrunek, Domain Realty's owner, about the process of being an REO broker and specifically be recognized by Fannie Mae as one of a select few firms to handle their foreclosures.
Adam expressed to me that the 'privilege' of handling Fannie Mae REOs is extremely intense, very hands-on and required him to hire additional staff (not Realtors) to address the 'field' responsibilities of maintaining these properties until they are sold.
Needless to say, it became quite clear to me in this call that to the uninformed, it would appear to be easy to be … (3 comments)

fannie mae: iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMortgage? - 06/16/12 11:16 AM
 
Marianne Sullivan, SVP of Credit Portfolio Strategy Underwriting & Pricing, for Fannie Mae, recently gave a speech addressing the ‘next frontier’ of mortgage evolution.  Sullivan predicts that eMortgages may be "the next frontier" in origination. In her speech, she pointed out that there are currently only 250,000 such electronic loans on the MERS database.
 
Looking over the industry, Sullivan seemed confident that her mortgage finance colleagues could achieve this next front based on the recent implementation of Uniform Appraisal Data, or UAD.
 
Besides, is it really that far off to get your eMortgage?  Now you can purchase gas … (1 comments)

fannie mae: Fannie Mae Said Delinquencies Dropped To Three Year Low - 04/12/12 10:19 AM
Fannie Mae repoted that delinquency rate on its portfolio of single-family properties dropped to its lowest level in nearly three years.
The delinquency rate declined to 3.82% from 3.9% the month before.
In comparison to last year, the delinquency rate is down from 4.44%.
Nonetheless, the report noted that Fannie Mae continues to lose billions every quarter from the mortgages guaranteed between 2005 and 2007.  Despite the losses, Fannie Mae is working steadily through loan modifications, short sales and in some cases even foreclosures.  As a result of this effort the backlog is being cleared.
Despite all of this news, it … (2 comments)

fannie mae: FHFA Says Illinois Is Third From Last - 03/20/12 02:13 PM
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) says that Illinois ranked third behind Florida and California for the most home mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that were seriously delinquent or already in foreclosure at the end of 2011. According to their report issued Monday, Illinois has 74,028 mortgages that were at least 90 days past due or in foreclosure.  This represents 5.3% of all residential mortgages backed in Illinois by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Furthermore, 42,000 were delinquent for at least a year.  Another 12,471 homes were bank-owned at the end of last year.The FHFA report noted that nationally, … (0 comments)

fannie mae: Fannie Mae REO inventory drops 27% in 2011 - 03/01/12 11:51 PM
Year-end inventory of foreclosed residences held by FNMA (Fannie Mae) dropped for the first time in since the great housing recession of the 21st century. In 2011, REO inventory dropped 27% to approximately 118,500.  Given that 23% of the REO inventory held by Fannie Mae is located in California, followed by Florida at 11.5%, this is definitely a good sign, provided new foreclosure filings and repossessions don't ramp back up the REO inventory levels.
 
Also of note, Fannie Mae SOLD more REOs than it took in.  More specifically, the report indicated that in 2011, Fannie Mae acquired nearly 200,000 properties … (1 comments)

fannie mae: Chicago Is A Close 2nd - 01/11/12 12:19 PM
Although 2012 is barely underway, it is only January and the news in the housing market is either disheartening or encouraging.  It all depends on your perspective.
For homeowners, the prospect of the more foreclosed properties coming back into the market is anything but welcome news.  The potential impacts: pressure on existing market prices pushing sellers into short sale territory, existing sellers competing with distressed properties, shifting buyer attitudes towards the acceptance of distressed properties in lieu of conventional sales, deterioriating neighborhoods due to a reduction in owner occupants.
On the other side of the equation are investors and neighborhood advocates … (0 comments)

fannie mae: Another Enron? - 12/19/11 03:22 PM
So, with the news that a branch of the Federal government is suing executives of another quasi-federal government run firm, what is the likely outcome?
Just in case you are not familiar with the circumstances, on Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission waded into the Fannie/Freddie wars by filing a lawsuit against three executives at the company.  The complaint charges them with making “materially false” disclosures about the size of the companies’ subprime portfolios. 
Granted, Enron was a very different form of fraud, perpetrated by Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andrew Fastow in an effort to prop up values and pump … (2 comments)

fannie mae: FHFA vs City of Chicago: Update - 12/15/11 08:27 AM
Whenever there is a disagree, there is always more than 1 side to the story.
Digging a little deeper, the suit filed in the U.S. District Court by Plaintiff Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA” or the “Conservator”), on its own behalf and as Conservator of and on behalf of the Federal National Mortgage Association(“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”)
notes the following first point:
This case arises because the City of Chicago is interfering unlawfully withFHFA’s federally mandated oversight and exercise of discretion, as Conservator and regulator ofthe Enterprises, to preserve and conserve the value of … (0 comments)

fannie mae: FHFA vs City of Chicago: Lawsuit Over Abandoned Property - 12/14/11 02:56 PM
Boxing fans are in for a treat that started on Monday.....In the north corner, wearing red, white and blue is FHFA, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and in the south corner wearing blue, white and a dash of red is City of Chicago.  The match pits the local municpalities being represented by the City of Chicago who desperately want abanded properties secured and attended versus FHFA which says the ordinance by City of Chicago is illegal....it is all about vacant building responsibility.
As noted in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday, "the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, … (2 comments)

fannie mae: Tryptophan Has Already Set In? - 11/27/11 11:19 AM
Granted Thanksgiving is hardly over and people are being called to take action with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, but what of the government and the shadow inventory?  Has tryptophan already set in?  It seems that although the United States government has hardly ever been one to get on board with an existing holiday / action plan, they do come up with some of their own.
Nonetheless, it seems that is not an urge to purge at this time regarding the amount of properties owned via foreclosure, deed-in lieu of foreclosure, etc by the GSEs, Fannie Mae, Freddie … (0 comments)

fannie mae: Watch Out! You Almost Stepped In UAD! - 08/27/11 06:07 AM
 
Well, you may or may not have read about it, but it is happening whether you like it or not.  Kinda like the government raising the debt ceiling.  The implementation of UAD, Uniform Appraisal Dataset, is rolling into existence with full implementation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sept 1, 2011
For everyone who hasn't seen the exciting preview of the UAD, watch out, you may just have it served to you when you were least expecting it.  Better carry some antiacids or better yet a spare pair of shoes, because although your boots are made for walking, you … (3 comments)

fannie mae: Look: It's A Bird, It's A Plane, No, It's Another Foreclosure! - 08/25/11 03:36 AM
 

No matter how you slice it, the landscape is not what it used to be.  Granted, you may not even like landscaping, but in today's environment, you're going to deal with it.  Maybe, if you don't like the landscape, you can take refuge and look to the sky.  Yet, if you are Fannie Mae, they were kind enough to publicly announce that the future of the economy and housing is dismal. 
No matter how you slice it, Fannie Mae all but said, 'the sky is falling' when they it was noted that "The recovery has clearly lost momentum," said … (2 comments)