Some people are looking to fill their time - apparently they have too much on their hands.

On the other hand, some companies are looking to fill jobs. PHH Mortgage is looking to fill positions in its Mt. Laurel, NJ, Jacksonville, FL, and Sacramento, CA offices, from entry-level customer service representatives to licensed and experienced originators, processors, conventional and FHA underwriters, and experienced managers. PHH, one of the top five retail originators in the nation, is seeking people with a diverse range of experience, including recent college graduates, people looking to make a career change, and proven mortgage professionals seeking to build a career with a new company. Interested job seekers can view more details and submit a job application at www.phhjobs .com. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin or any other characteristic protected by law. 

Guild Mortgage has a full-time opportunity for a Lock Desk Specialist in its Secondary Marketing Department. This position requires a strong understanding of mortgage loan programs and loans from application to closing. Responsibilities include creating and maintaining rate sheets, coordinating the distribution of investor guidelines and changes, quoting rates, locking loans, working with investors, and researching new investors and analyze products. An ideal candidate will have 2 to 3 years recent mortgage banking experience, specifically in Secondary Marketing, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and a focus on accuracy and attention to detail while being proficient at computer work. Guild, which has been around for over 50 years and is originating $4-5 billion per year, is located in San Diego. Resumes should be sent to Shaun Peck at speck@guildmortgage .net.

Underwriters like to think that underwriting is the key to prudent loan origination. I will not disagree, but huh? Are residential underwriting criteria becoming less restrictive? Documentation is certainly on the upswing (I've heard underwriters say that they're more like auditors than underwriters) and, per Ellie Mae, it took longer to close a loan in April (45 days), but the average FICO score on a successfully closed loan fell somewhat, "suggesting less restrictive underwriting." In general, average scores through Ellie's platform have been sitting 740-750 for many months. The same report shows the LTV on closed loans reaching a nine-month high of 80 in April, compared to 77 in March and 76 in February and January. One can see it all here.

Bank closings have slowed in 2012, and we only had one Friday: Alabama Trust Bank, National Association, became part of Southern States Bank, also of Alabama. Along those lines, however, and on a much larger scale, the FDIC has put forth a plan for major financial firms whereby U.S. regulators will seize the parent company but allow its units around the globe to keep operating while "the mess" is cleaned up. The equity stakeholders of the large bank or other financial firm will be wiped out, and bondholders will face losses as their holdings are swapped for equity in a new entity. If several federal agencies and the Treasury Department agree to seize a firm, the FDIC will unwind the parent bank holding company of the faltering firm, place it in receivership and revoke its charter while the firm's subsidiaries around the world would continue to operate, and the FDIC would transfer most of the firm's assets and some of its liabilities into what's known as a "bridge company." Watch for "orderly liquidation authority" to be the buzz word if someone like a WAMU or a Lehman collapses again.

The Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) is a fact of life of many LO's - 375,000 of them (and more than 11,000 depository institutions and subsidiaries). By the end of 2011 NMLS had registered 17,121 companies holding 22,124 active state licenses.  There were 11,081 depository institutions and subsidiaries registered, and 116,991 individual MLOs holding 226,010 active state licenses in addition to the federally registered MLOs noted above - the numbers make your head spin.

Chicago, Las Vegas...and now Oakland, California? Despite the fact that bank's don't even own properties in the earliest stages of foreclosure, the city of Oakland has voted to require banks to register such homes and pay for upkeep. For vacant homes, banks would have to pay a $568 annual fee, hire a property manager and maintain the home and yard. Here is the story, which, if carried out, directly hits servicing values and in turn the cost of a loan to borrowers - more unintended consequences as municipalities reach for income.

The real estate and mortgage industries are not done with seeing fraud as being a problem, or popping up in the headlines. Fraud is a constantly moving target - there are some clever people out there who unfortunately direct their talents against regulations. CoreLogic pinpointed a few 2011 trends through its Fraud Index, including the stabilization of "origination risk" which is down 75% from 2005 levels (largely due to overall origination volume dropping) and "identity fraud" dropping due to more stringent identity validation measures. Property fraud, however, increased over 250% from 2010 to 2011 as a result of fraudulent flipping of properties. And based on Mortgage Loan Fraud Suspicious Activity Reports received by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the volume of mortgage loan fraud was on the increase. FinCEN, besides being hard to type, received 92,028 MLFSARs in 2011, up from 70,472 in 2010 and consistent with the increase observed from 2001.  Much of the activity reported actually occurred some time ago, as 84% of incidences were more than two years old. In terms of geographic trends, California and Florida remained the states with the highest volume of mortgage loan fraud, while Illinois and New York swapped spots such that they're now numbers 3 and 4, respectively.  The metropolitan areas of Chicago; Washington, DC; Brooklyn, NY; Atlanta; and Jamaica, NY had the highest rates of fraud, reporting a fraud index more than 30% higher than the rest of the country.

The Appraisal Institute responded to a recent report released by the FinCEN. The group's March 2012 Mortgage Loan Fraud Update showed that incidences of mortgage fraud rose by 20% year-over-year between the third-quarter of 2011 and the third-quarter of 2010. Commenting on the findings, Appraisal Institute's president, Sara W. Stephens, MAI, said, "These ongoing reports of fraud in the housing industry reinforce the need for consumers and real estate professionals to rely on individuals with not only the right experience, but the reputation and ethics to help guide them through today's uncertain marketplace." Continuing its response, the AI reiterated its commitment to fighting back against mortgage-related fraud. In an official statement, the organization noted that between 2000 and 2011, "7.9 times more nonmember appraisers than Appraisal Institute members received a disciplinary action. Based on the most recent five-year averages, the AI represents 26% of the entire U.S. appraiser population, but only 12.1% of all disciplinary actions."

When in doubt, go to a training session! Fortunately there are many of them - too many to list. But here is a start:

AllRegs will offer a training webinar entitled, "The HARP II Program," tomorrow from 2-3:30PM EST. "In 2012, the HARP II program was announced to allow lenders to deliver HARP loans without a cap on loan-to-value ratios. Making changes to the LTV ratios is just one of the many changes to the revised HARP II program. During this 90-minute webinar, we will look at all of changes to this program and how they will impact those borrowers who were locked out of refinancing to a lower rate based on previous LTV restrictions. To learn more or register, click here or visit allregs.com.

A webinar on the FHA's condominium eligibility requirements will take place on May 24th. This training doesn't cover the condo approval process, focusing instead on the latest updates and basic requirements.  Go here  to register. By the way, policies may be in a state of flux, making condo project approvals easier.

For those interested in selling HUD REOs, FHA-HUD will be putting on a webinar that covers the roles of Asset and Field Servicers Managers, types of HUD home listings, electronic bidding, "incentive" programs, and common delays.  Register here.

The FHA continues to provide basic loss mitigation training around the country for HUD-approved counseling agencies, local servicing lenders, and nonprofits.  The training will be available on May 23rd in Jacksonville, FL; June 5th in Greensboro, NC; June 14th in Louisville, KY and Chicago, IL; June 19th in Nashville, TN; and June 20th in Memphis, TN and Indianapolis, IN.  To register for any of the trainings visit here.  Loss mitigation webinars on overviews of HUD early delinquencies, home retention options, disposition options for pre-foreclosure sale and deed-in-lieu, SFDMS default reporting, servicer tools in HUD's Neighborhood Watch System, FHA claims, will be available from June 6th-July 18th and again from August 1st to September 12th.

Out in California, the CMBA's next monthly conference call for its Mortgage Quality and Compliance Committee (MQAC) is coming up - for free! It is this Thursday at 11AM PST, and the topic is "Simulated HUD Audits." Contact Dustin Hobbs for more information at dustin@cmba .com.

(Speaking of the CMBA, it is setting up its annual Western Secondary Marketing Conference in San Francisco.)

The FHA will be hosting a class on the FHA appraisal process and requirements in San Antonio, TX on June 5th.  The training covers protocol and recent update and counts towards seven hours of Continuing Education for the state of Texas.  Registration is available here.  Also in San Antonio, June 6th will be "A Day with FHA," which covers a wide spectrum of topics and case studies - bring your own donuts. Seriously, attendees are to bring a calculator; register here.

In an alluring blend of bureaucracy and tropical heat, the FHA will be hosting two days of FHA Appraiser and Lender training in San Juan, Puerto Rico on June 5th and 6th.   For more information and to register, see this link.

The Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention and Awareness Coalition and the FHA are hosting a training class on Sovereign Citizens and Adverse Home Possession: An Emerging Trend in Atlanta on June 6th.  Those interested can register here.

A webinar on selling HUD REOs is available on June 7th.  The training covers a number of topics, including the role of Asset and Field Service Managers, types of HUD home listings, and "incentive" programs.  Register here.

For those interested in learning more about FHA loss mitigation, a webinar series covering early delinquency, home retention, SFDMS default reporting, HUD's Neighborhood Watch system, and claims will available throughout the summer.  The first rotation will be from June 6th to July 18th; the second, from August 1st to September 12th. Visit HUD's site for more information.

Okay, that is enough training. Here we are this morning - another week, another set of U.S. economic news - very little of it news that would move rates. Tomorrow we have Existing Home Sales; Wednesday holds in store New Home Sales and the FHFA house price index. Thursday is Jobless Claims and Durable Goods, and the Friday is some University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index.

We're seeing a bounce in equity (stock) markets around the world, especially here in the U.S. (In early trading Facebook is below its offering price.) The big weekend event at Camp David, the G8, wound up being a relative non-event.  The final communiqué can be seen here, but it made vague references to adopting pro-growth measures and acknowledged that individual countries might pursue their own different policies (revealing a lack of consensus). Rates are a shade higher, with the 10-yr at 1.73% and MBS prices are unchanged.


Two southerners are talking about ducks and dogs [pronounce the capital letters separately]:
MR ducks
MR not ducks
OSAR
CM wangs
LIB
MR ducks!

MR dogs
MR not dogs
OSAR
CMPN
LIB
MR dogs!