Headlines

Foreclosure is the last thing a homeowner thinks about when giving a mortgage. But it happens. We will discuss the process and some solutions to a desperate situation....

FDIC has now issued two recent reports to say the housing boom won’t go bust because, well gosh, it hardly ever has....

Yesterday's Recap - Volume moderately higher than 30 day average - Subdued supply + flattening yield curve = Happy MBS - 5.0's back in "the zone" - steady buying led by Fed and Money Managers The AM So Far... - Testing suggested support from yesterday (see chart below) as early AM trading mirrors yesterday's (weak start) - 5.0's currently down 6 ticks to 101-16. 4.5's down 4 ticks to 99-15 - Waiting on CPI to be out shortly - Dr. Ben at 9AM - MBA says purchases down...

Sides are quickly being drawn over a pending bill before the House of Representatives which, if passed, will put in place some stringent new standards for mortgage underwriting and the regulation and compensation of mortgage brokers.

HR 3915 is expected to be voted on by the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, November 6. Introduced by Representative Bradley Miller (D-NC) and cosponsored by 21 other members of the House, modifies three major sections of Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602), Title I deals with mortgage origination; Title II outlines minimum standards for mortgages, and Title III addresses high cost mortgages...

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Appraisers have taken the lead in asking for relief from pressures that some say may be leading to a full-scale appraisal fraud scandal....

Every boom real estate market brings a boom in newly minted agents. A few words of caution from a somewhat weary veteran....

A real estate short sale is only one of several options available to lenders when a loan defaults. It might be, however, the least painful to everyone concerned....

Limited Service Real Estate Offices draw fire over services such as For Sale By Owner Websites and Flat Fee MLS Listings. ...

For the homeowner it can be a tough decision – buy a new house, or sell the old one first. Here are some 'solutions' to the problem....

Even in the 5 minutes from last post, down further still. 4.0's down to 99-07 4.5's to 100-19 5.0's to 101-20 Previous repricers may reprice AGAIN, and those who haven't have more cause.

We mentioned briefly last week that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP) has filed a class action suit against more than a dozen subprime lenders in an effort to stop those lenders from engaging in what the suit calls "systematic, institutionalized racism in making home mortgage loans."

The NAACP suit specifically names 14 lenders: Ameriquest, Wells Fargo...

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An eminent domain case makes it to the Supreme Court. While the Court may be months away from a decision, public protests and the resulting media coverage is turning the spotlight on a 225 year-old-process with a 50-year-old twist....

H.R. 3044 : To impose an 18-month moratorium on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct ...from NAMB McLean, VA - June 26, 2009 - Last night, Representatives Childers (D-MS) and Miller (R-CA) introduced legislation calling for an 18 month moratorium on the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC). The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) applauds the introduction of H.R. 3044. NAMB would like to thank Representative Childers (D-MS) and Representative Miller (R-CA) for their continued efforts and...

The net result for both treasuries and MBS is a huge positive. BE AWARE, that treasuries will get the spotlight today, and potentially even through the end of the week. You might find yourself asking: "where are all the MBS gains considering how much tsy's are rallying?" I'll speak to that more in the close, but here's the bottom line, it doesn't really matter if we gain 10 ticks today or 30, we'll still be gaining. At this early stage it looks like the 10yr is pausing right around the 3.34 level which is 29-30 ticks up on the day. Considering that MBS will lag tsy's at the moment, this should be good for longer duration MBS gaining somewhere between half and 3/4's as much. So faces may not get as melted as the initial data suggested. But then again they might. Huge swings back and forth are the name of the game following these auctions....

"TAYLOR, BEAN & WHITAKER MORTGAGE CORP. (“TBW”) RECEIVED NOTIFICATION ON AUGUST 4, 2009 FROM THE U.S DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, FREDDIE MAC AND GINNIE MAE (THE “AGENCIES”) THAT IT WAS BEING TERMINATED AND/OR SUSPENDED AS AN APPROVED SELLER AND/OR SERVICER FOR EACH OF THOSE RESPECTIVE FEDERAL AGENCIES. TBW HAS UNSUCCESSFULLY SOUGHT TO HAVE THE TERMINATION/SUSPENSION DECISIONS OF EACH OF THOSE AGENCIES REVERSED. AS A RESULT OF THESE ACTIONS, TBW MUST CEASE ALL ORIGINATION OPERATIONS EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. REGRETTABLY, TBW WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CLOSE OR FUND ANY MORTGAGE LOANS CURRENTLY PENDING IN ITS PIPELINE. TBW IS COOPERATING WITH EACH OF THE AGENCIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS SERVICING OPERATIONS AND EXPECTS TO CONTINUE TO SERVICE MORTGAGE LOANS AS IT RESTRUCTURES ITS BUSINESS IN THE WAKE OF THESE EVENTS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS COULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR VALUED EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS AND COUNTERPARTIES, AND ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT A LESS DRASTIC OPTION IS UNAVAILABLE."...