Private Mortgage Insurance Improving On the mortgage insurance front, PMI will be increasing its maximum LTV to 97% effective October 8. It is a good sign for many in the industry, and loans must have a minimum 720 credit score, be in non-distressed markets, owner-occupied, conforming, originated only through a retail channel, etc. And it [...]

Nashville Flood Video On a serious note, and besides a decent Johnny Cash soundtrack, here is a video to spend 1 minute and 50 seconds watching, and not only see what Nashville is dealing with, but also what lenders in that area are dealing with. Senate Rejects GOP Dilution of Consumer Financial Protections In this [...]

Reshuffling Of Fed Members Is the economy really in good enough shape for the Fed to start selling their $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities? I don’t think so, but maybe the press doesn’t have enough else to talk about, so the Fed possibly lightning up on their balance sheet has been receiving some publicity. Federal [...]

Largest Mortgage Lenders & Investors Who were, and probably still are, the largest mortgage lenders/investors in 2009? There were no real surprises. Private Mortgage Insurance Making A Comeback? PMI gave its clients some good news by reducing the minimum FICO score from 720 to 700 for CA, AZ, NV, DE, HA, NJ, and FL and [...]

Mortgage Rate/Lock Update A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. His grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.” We started off the week with both the stock and bond markets making a little change for investors: both improved. The folks on Wall Street, if [...]

Seven More Banks Fail, 2009 Tally At 140 Wanna buy a bank? Now is a good time to give that someone special a little something special – like a failed bank. Seven U.S. banks were taken over on Friday, and the FDIC could not find buyers for three of them. It brings the total to [...]

In a move that other states may take note of, in North Carolina, the N.C. Office of the Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB) is sending a message by announcing that it is proposing mortgage rules to help reduce foreclosures, to improve consumer protection and the functioning of the mortgage market, and to implement the S.A.F.E. Act. [...]

A story in “Inside Mortgage Finance” from August 31st stated, “The Federal Housing Administration is not considering adopting the Home Valuation Code of Conduct appraisal system now in place at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Coming from a recent meeting with FHA executives, top officials of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers said they were [...]

If your stock portfolio is going up in value, do you save less? Probably. People generally feel wealthier when their stocks are rising, or their house is appreciating: they will spend more and save less. When the reverse happens, they spend less and save more, which is exactly what is happening now, or at least [...]

Do mortgage originators consider the future when they are speaking with a client and processing the loan? Perhaps: certainly between 2002 and 2007 originators “appeared” willing to lend to anyone since values were increasing, and any problems might be covered up with appreciation. They weren’t necessarily forcing the borrower to borrow, and investors weren’t being [...]