gse: 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)

gse: 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)

gse: Freddie Mac And The Inverse Floater - 10/04/12 10:05 PM
 
In January the National Public Radio (NPR) website ran a story accusing Freddie Mac, a government sponsored entity of betting against homeowners, by investing billions of dollars to ensure that they do not refinance their mortgages at lower rates. The broadcaster had sighted an investigation carried out by NPR and ProPublica, an independent not for profit news room.
 
Freddie Mac was chartered by congress to stabilize the nation’s residential mortgage markets and expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing in 1970. However there were accusation that in 2010 and 2011, Freddie Mac set out to make gains for … (1 comments)

gse: 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)

gse: 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)

gse: Another Idea To Reduce The Shadow Inventory - IRS Deduction? - 09/05/11 03:55 AM
 
In an the ongoing mental game of jenga, i.e. how to accomplish one thing without causing everyting else to fall down, what ideas for the shadow inventory might actually be feasible.
On the heels of yesterday's conversation with an uncle, the thought dawned on me that possibly there could be a credit when filing income taxes, much like that credit for parents claiming their children, for property owners who agree to take on and maintain a GSEs foreclosure.
Granted, this raises some interesting challenges but it opens the door to opportunity as well.
Who knows what and how it will … (2 comments)

gse: 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)