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Mortgage News Daily News Feed

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Consumer Mortgage Choice Act Under Fire From CRL

Posted To: MND NewsWire

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) has released a brief issues paper voicing objections to HR 1077 , The Consumer Mortgage Choice Act. The bill currently sits in the House Financial Services Committee of which its sponsor Representative Bill Huizenga (R-MI) is a member. The bill amends the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) with respect to disclosures of points and fees for so called "high cost" mortgage loans and has the following key points Excludes from the computation of such points and fees: (1) the amount of any loan level price adjustment payment set by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, or similar government entity, (2) any compensation paid by a mortgage originator to an employee or creditor; and (3) any escrow for future payment of insurance. Modifies the inclusion in the computation of...(read more)

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MBS RECAP: Reminded of Volatility via Friday Cliff-Diving

Posted To: MBS Commentary

MBS Live : MBS Afternoon Market Summary MBS took a running start downhill this morning before reaching the edge of the cliff marked by yesterday morning's "ledge" of prices. This was the 102-28 area hit after yesterday's 8:30am economic data, including the weaker-than-expected Jobless Claims figures. MBS would go on to rally further after Philly Fed data at 10am, resulting in their best day of the month by a wide margin. Staring over the precipice of that same cliff (OK, it's not a very epic sort of cliff by the time we get back down to 102-28 from yesterday's highs at 103-10, but we're going for some continuity with the title here!), MBS turned, mouthed the words "it was never about the data..." and took the leap, ultimately making a splash (lots of them) around the important 102-16 waterline...(read more)

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Mortgage Rates Jump Back To Recent Highs, More Volatility Ahead

Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

Mortgage rates moved higher at their fastest pace in two weeks , after having their best day in more than 6 weeks just yesterday. The net effect for rates is not good, leaving them at their highest levels of the week and very close to 2013 highs seen in early March. While 3.625% remains as the best-execution rate for conventional, 30yr fixed loans, the costs associated with that rate (or whatever rate you're considering) are as high as they've been all week. Further increases from here start to shift the balance toward 3.75%. There's no question that the month of May has been exceptionally volatile for mortgage rates, in the context of the past 2 years anyway. Consider the "cost" side of the mortgage rate equation. Every rate has an associated cost implied. The lower the rate, the higher the...(read more)

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Home Sales Would Rise 15-20 Percent With 720 FICO - NAR

Posted To: MND NewsWire

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said Thursday it might be time to " dial down the credit stringency ." If the credit scores required for a mortgage returned to the more normal levels of about 720 for conventional loans and 660 for FHA loans, he said, home sales could be 15 to 20 percent higher than they are. During the past four years the average scores for approved conventional loans have been in the 760 to 770 range. About 51 percent of renters could qualify financially to purchase a home compared to 24 percent in 2005 and 33 percent in 2000. While their credit scores are unknown, "there are about 8 million more renters with the income necessary to buy a home now than in 2000, but they are choosing not to or are unable to become a homeowner...(read more)

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Kickback Accusations Resolved by CFPB Consent Filing

Posted To: MND NewsWire

A Texas homebuilder will surrender more than $100,000 to the Consumer Finance Protection Agency under a consent order filed on Friday. Paul Taylor, a principal of Paul Taylor Homes Unlimited and Paul Taylor Corporation was accused of receiving kickbacks for referring homebuyers to Benchmark Bank and to Willow Bend Mortgage Company for their mortgages. Under the agreement Taylor is also prohibited from engaging in future real estate settlement services including mortgage origination. Under the consent order, under which the respondents neither accepted nor denied the CFPB findings, the Bureau contends that Taylor and Benchmark jointly created and owned Stratford Mortgage Services and Willow Bend and Taylor created PTH Mortgage Company. Both companies, which the CFPB contends were shams, operated...(read more)

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