· As part of the $25 billion mortgage settlement that was struck between the country's five largest banks and the state attorneys general and federal government, JPMorgan Chase pledged more than $4 billion in mortgage relief for thousands of borrowers by either reducing the principal owed or the interest rate or both on their loans.
· Chase now reworks the loan terms and lays out the new payment plan in a letter to its borrowers.
· The borrower sees the new rate, how much principal has been taken off their balance and what their new payments will be, and all they have to do is sign the letter approving the new terms and mail it back to the bank.
· In modifying mortgages it already owns, Chase does not need to verify the borrower's income, assets and work history.
Housing
· Although home prices gains were the highest in six years during the first half of the year, a full-on recovery is still not in sight.
· Higher prices can be attributed to low inventories, with the resale supply at an eight-year low and new-home inventories at a nearly five-decade low.
· The market currently is resting on investors and first-time buyers given that many homeowners cannot trade up because they are underwater or have lost too much equity.
Short-Sale Program
· Underwater homeowners who participate in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac short-sale program this year are unlikely to get a break on their credit scores.
· Short sales typically cause FICO scores to plummet, sometimes 150 points or more.
· Homeowners who qualify for the program must have solid mortgage payment histories.
· But the credit score companies do not plan to make any changes to their scoring systems for these borrowers, who will be fundamentally different from sellers who did not pay their mortgage for months on end.
Loan Mods
· America's highest-ranked residential servicers completed 66,000 proprietary loan workouts in July, 40% more than a month earlier.
· The alliance represents more than 30 servicers -- including the top five, which agreed to a $25 billion nationwide settlement to improve modification efforts and provide principal reductions when possible.
· The sudden spike in proprietary modifications may reflect the impact of that accord.
Mortgage Debt Relief
· A special exemption of up to $2 million per household in principal reduction and other breaks provided by the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 are set to expire in December.
· Homeowners receiving the aid as part of a national foreclosure settlement could face hefty tax bills as a result.
Goldman Sachs
· A federal appeals court in New York has ruled that NECA-IBEW Health & Welfare Fund can pursue a class-action case that accusesGoldman Sachs Group of deceiving investors about the risks associated with mortgage securities offerings.
· The decision could potentially expose banks to a wider array of claims by letting mortgage securities investors sue over securities in which they did not specifically invest themselves.
GSE Reform
· He blamed the companies for the financial crisis but did not offer specific details for an overhaul.
· Republicans remain deeply split on the issue, with conservatives leaning toward full privatization of the firms.
· Real estate search and marketing portal Trulia has launched a tool that offers preliminary rate and fee quotes from mortgage lenders when consumers key in information such as credit score, home price, down payment and property type.
· Trulia Mortgage Center directs them to a page with a lead form for the lender along with details of the loan, including estimated monthly costs.
CWCapital Sale
· Walker & Dunlop has completed its $234 million acquisition of CWCapital, making it one of the largest commercial real estate lenders in the U.S.
· The company’s Chairman and CEO said he expects CWCapital to add substantially to his firm's platform.
US Construction
· The decline followed three consecutive months of gains driven by increased home and apartment construction.
· Outlays on single-family homes bumped up 1.5% and spending on apartment construction rose 2.8% percent.
Fannie Mae Loan Mods
· July marked the third month in a row that the mortgage financier has completed more than 11,000 modifications.
· Since the first of the year, it has completed 93,413 loan modifications.
Wells Fargo
· Wells Fargo has reserved $9 million in down-payment assistance for potential home buyers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., area.
· To qualify for the NeighborhoodLIFT initiative, a family of four would have to earn less than $100M a year; participants would be eligible for a $15M grant that may be forgiven if they stay in place for at least five years.
· Wells Fargo is offering the program in several cities that were hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.
Medical Debt Responsibility Act
· The Act -- which would require medical collections to be scrubbed from consumer credit reports within 45 days of payment -- could bolster the housing market if passed.
· Some consumers have been unable to obtain home loans because their credit scores have suffered due to problems with medical debts even after they have been paid.
CFPB Mortgage Reform
· The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to aggregate title insurance and other closing costs in the annual percentage rate.
· The resulting increase could affect the number of loans subject to other legal requirements.
· The CFPB is looking into revising state and federal triggers that impose additional rules on high-cost loans.
Mortgage Employment
· However, hiring’s were greater at 5,580 -- marking the fourth consecutive quarter of mortgage job gains.
· Michigan's 711 hiring’s and zero layoffs gave it the biggest net gain followed by Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
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