fannie mae: Fannie, Freddie Told to Ease Credit Standards
- 01/19/15 07:01 AM
Last week it was reported by REUTERS that Mel Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to "explore 'alternate' credit score models and the credit history of the loans they support". Watt has stated that expanding credit availability is an important goal, but also indicated that it must be balanced against the risks associated with loan losses. As you will recall, Fannie and Freddie have both introduced 97% LTV loan products. They are going to be pursuing other means to make financing available to more home buyers. Among other things, FHFA wants … (11 comments)
fannie mae: Fannie's New Appraisal Program Raises Concerns
- 01/10/15 03:22 AM
Nationally syndicated real estate news columnist Ken Harney has indicated in an article on tucson.com that the new Fannie Mae appraisal risk assessment application that is due to be launched on January 26, 2015, may cause more problems than it solves. In a post entitled, "Fannie Appraisal Review Revisions", I previously outlined the new application, "Collateral Underwriter", that Fannie will begin using in connection with its Uniform Collateral Data Portal ("UCDP"). This new application will compare current appraisal information to older or concurrent appraisals on file with Fannie for the same property and will produce reports indicating errors of various … (13 comments)
fannie mae: FNMA Appraisal Review Revisions
- 01/05/15 07:08 AM
As of January 26, 2015, FNMA ("Fannie Mae") will be implementing a new appraisal risk assessment application that will be integrated into the Uniform Collateral Data Portal ("UCDP") that was launched by Fannie Mae and FHLMC in January 2013.The UCDP facilitates the electronic collection of appraisal report data. It is a single portal for the electronic submission of appraisal data files which lenders are required to use. The portal is linked to the Uniform Appraisal Dataset which defines all fields required for an appraisal submission for specific appraisal forms and standardizes definitions and responses. The new application is referred to as "Collateral … (32 comments)
fannie mae: Petition to End Conservatorship
- 01/01/15 10:01 PM
In an article dated 12.31.2014, DSnews reported that an online petition has been posted, addressed to the Obama Administration, to end the conservatorship of FNMA and FHLMC. The petition organizers hope to obtain 100,000 signatures by 01.19.2015. The petition was posted as of 12.20.2014 and has 968 signatures as of the writing of this post. The petition is HERE. The article indicates that the conservatorship is costing taxpayers money and that the GSEs have been turning a profit since 2012. The article cites that more than several law suits are pending against FHFA and the GSEs to stop the sweep of … (4 comments)
fannie mae: Waiting Periods After Bankruptcy
- 12/29/14 03:32 AM
As George Souto has provided a wealth of information about waiting periods after a short sale or foreclosure to apply for various types of mortgage loans, you need to be aware that there are also waiting periods after going through a bankruptcy. The guidelines for waiting periods after bankruptcy are almost as confusing as the guidelines for short sales and foreclosures. The guidelines will be provided in two parts so as to keep things short and simple. This post will address conventional loans and tomorrow I will develop the guidelines for FHA, USDA/RD and VA. To understand fully these waiting period … (12 comments)
fannie mae: FHFA Takes Aim At "Super-Priority Liens"
- 12/23/14 11:49 PM
In a statement released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and reported in DS news the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") has indicated that it will aggressively protect the lien position of mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Certain energy retrofit financing programs adopted by states and municipalities and homeowners' associations are given super-priority for the sums due them. They have the ability to wipe out the lien securing a mortgage in the event the HOA or energy financing program is forced to foreclose its lien to collect sums due. Some energy financing programs are being treated as tax … (6 comments)
fannie mae: Fannie / Freddie Reform
- 12/23/14 03:04 AM
The Congressional Budget Office ("CBO") recently released a report entitled, "Transitioning to Alternative Structures for Housing Finance", in which the CBO set forth its alternatives to the existing structures for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The report is summarized in Publication 49765. The CBO came up with four alternatives to replace the existing GSEs. The first alternative is to combine Fannie and Freddie into one federal agency and the CBO predicts that the combined agency would have a smaller market share than the existing two GSEs. The second alternative is a hybrid entity in which private investors would participate with the … (3 comments)
fannie mae: Blame It On The Servicers
- 12/20/14 09:45 AM
In a blog appearing in the Wall Street Journal for December 19, 2014, the author is blaming loan servicers for the tight credit market despite the relaxation of the QM rule and the requirement that lenders retain a 5% stake in mortgages they sell that have LTVs of greater than 80%. The blogger cites a research paper released by the Urban Institute that indicates that the high cost of servicing delinquent loans is keeping lenders from loosening their credit standards to accept less than prime borrowers. The blog indicates that last year the cost of servicing a delinquent loan was $2300 per … (3 comments)
fannie mae: Economist Expresses Concern About 3% Down Payment Loans
- 12/15/14 10:50 PM
A leading housing economist has expressed concern over the new(?) 3% Down Payment loan products that have been introduced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Robert Shiller, in an interview with CNBC as reported in National Mortgage Professional Magazine, indicated that the new products introduced recently by the GSEs create the possibility of problems for lenders and mortgage insurers. He cites the small margin for error (3%) as being the main area of concern. Shiller sees this as a problem area in light of the deceleration in housing prices in the recent past. Housing prices continue to rise, but at a much … (2 comments)
fannie mae: Fannie / Freddie To Make Housing Fund Payments
- 12/13/14 11:46 PM
Mix results seem to abound about the announced payments to be made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to federally sponsored national housing trust funds for very low and low income housing. FHFA Director Melvin Watt has lifted the suspension of payments by the GSEs that were requied under the Housing and Econimic Recovery Act of 2008 ("HERA"). In fact, the GSEs never made any payments to the housing funds as the GSEs went into conservatorship and HERA provides that the FHFA can suspend the required payments if the payments would contribute to the financial instability of the GSEs or would … (8 comments)
fannie mae: Fannie / Freddie Roll Out 3% Down Payment Guidelines
- 12/08/14 07:46 PM
Fannie Mae is calling it "My Community Mortgage", and Freddie Mac is calling it "Home Possible Advantage". Those are the names for the new 3% down payment loan products that will be insured or purchased by the GSEs in the near future. Guidelines were rolled out yesterday and reported in an article in Mortgage News Daily for December 8, 2014. The loan products will be subject to the same underwriting guidelines for the most part as conventional loans that are sold to the GSEs or are insured by the GSEs. The loans are limited to fixed rate loans encumbering only single … (11 comments)
fannie mae: Non-Depository Lenders Gain Market Share
- 12/07/14 09:42 PM
According to the President of Ginnie Mae, non-depository lenders now make up 50% of the business of Ginnie Mae, according to a recent National Mortgage News article. The article indicates that big banks have withdrawn from mortgage lending and that non-depository lenders have filled the void that was created. Big banks have pulled back on mortgage lending as they are "getting clobbered" by buy-back requests from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and are being penalized by HUD and FHA. Big banks are getting hammered by the various government agencies and entities to a great extent, in my opinion, because of their … (6 comments)
fannie mae: Increase of Guaranty Fees On Hold
- 11/20/14 09:14 PM
As you may have heard, Mel Watt, the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, 20141119. Watt was essentially there to defend the stance taken in January of this year to postpone any increase in the guaranty fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so the FHFA could study and analyze the situation more thoroughly. Watt did indicate that guidelines for increased fees would be rolled out during the first quarter of 2015. Watt was criticized by Republicans for delaying the fee increase and for considering the return of the … (5 comments)
fannie mae: What Does the GOP Congress Take On First?
- 11/19/14 09:10 PM
With the election behind us people are speculating as to what issues Congress will tackle in 2015. In an article on housingwire.com Stanley Street, President of Street Resource Group, a mortgage software development company, indicated that as far as housing is concerned, there will be, "a lot of talk but not action". Street is of the opinion that it will take about six months for any action and people at that point will then be talking about 2016 elections. He is predicting that as long as Fannie and Freddie make money little will be done to restructure those GSEs. That has … (4 comments)
fannie mae: Will 3% Downpayment Mortgages Return?
- 11/06/14 07:27 PM
There was a blog posted in The Washington Post yesterday afternoon that indicated that researchers from the Urban Institute have been reviewing the performance of low downpayment loans that have been backed by Fannie Mae in the past. Those researchers found, "that the default rate for loans with 3 percent to 5 percent down were very similar to the default rates on loans with 5 percent to 10 percent down". They also found that very few people took advantage of the 3% downpayment programs previously offered by Fannie and Freddie. Most people who took advantage of the programs as previously in … (29 comments)
Related Links:
Randy Kirsch
(NMLS# 1012303) Your Dedicated Mortgage Consultant
Last week it was reported by REUTERS that Mel Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to "explore 'alternate' credit score models and the credit history of the loans they support". Watt has stated that expanding credit availability is an important goal, but also indicated that it must be balanced against the risks associated with loan losses.
;)
;)
