Tag: finance

A change in the technology utilized by the Internal Revenue Service has created a glitch in a system used by home lenders that could end up delaying mortgage closings by months.

The Yves system is used by the mortgage industry to verify that tax returns supplied by an applicant for a residential loan are not fraudulent. A vast majority of the 6 million mortgages processed each year depend on the system due to investor and regulatory requirements.

But mortgage industry vendors are reporting that as of midday Thursday, they have been unable to retrieve tax transcripts from the IRS at the pace needed to handle the daily volume of loans.

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From:: Financing

As the heart of the holiday season approaches, new mortgage business is beginning to erode. Government activity was most impacted by the deceleration.

In the seven-day period that ended on Dec. 15, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortgage Daily was 147, declining by 7 percent compared to the previous week.

The index is an indicator of upcoming loan originations based on average per-user rate locks by clients of OpenClose. No adjustments were made for seasonal factors.

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From:: Financing

An investment firm with interests in firms like Black Knight Inc., ServiceLink Holdings LLC and Ten-X LLC is taking a stake in Guaranteed Rate Inc.

Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate announced Thursday that it has reached an agreement to sell a material interest in the company to a private-equity firm.

While some of the proceeds will be used to repurchase shares from existing shareholders, Guaranteed Rate plans to use the remainder for general corporate purposes.

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From:: Financing

PHH Mortgage Corp.’s failure to follow state requirements for vacant real-estate-owned assets in the Empire State will cost it more than $100,000.

New York’s Vacant and Abandoned Property Law requires banks and mortgage servicers to adhere to certain maintenance requirements on REOs.

Servicers that fail to comply with the state’s maintenance obligations are subject to enforcement actions and a fine of $500 per day that the law is violated.

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From:: Financing

Despite a broadly expected rate increase from the Federal Reserve Board’s Federal Open Market Committee, fixed mortgage rates were little changed. But a decline could be in the offing.

The Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ended Dec. 14 had 30-year fixed rates on single-family loans averaging 3.93, Freddie Mac reported.

That was barely any different than last week, when the average was 3.94 percent. But long-term mortgages rates have fallen 23 basis points from the same week last year.

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From:: Financing

Consumers have received emails from someone claiming to be the chief executive officer of Impac Mortgage Corp. and requesting money in order to receive a loan. But the messages are fraudulent.

Unsolicited emails have been sent using the name of Joseph R. Tomkinson, who is the CEO of Impac-parent Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. But Tomkinson is not the actual sender of the message.

The email offers the recipient loans from the Irvine, California-based mortgage banking firm. But before a home loan is given, money is requested.

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From:: Financing

Dozens of mortgage-related events scheduled for the first-three months of 2018 will cover a range of topics including secondary marketing, servicing and women in real estate finance.

During the first quarter of next year, a total of 30 mortgage-related events are listed on the Mortgage Daily Mortgage Industry Conference Calendar.

The calendar includes events by month, the venues for the events, the hosts and links to conference websites. Some are even linked to Mortgage Daily stories with even more details.

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From:: Financing

Several mortgage banking firms are being acquired, including two that are being picked up by banks. Two smaller Louisiana firms are merging, while a significant player is being purchased by another.

Shellpoint Partners LLC has agreed to be acquired by New Residential Investment Corp. for $190 million, a Nov. 29 statement said.

The acquisition of New York-based Shellpoint is expected to be completed in the first-half of next year. The deal is subject to settlements on mortgage servicing rights on approximately $8 billion in government-sponsored enterprise loans.

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From:: Financing

A new search engine has been launched for people in the mortgage industry to find vendors that offer a variety of services to the sector.

Imagine typing in a key industry term and coming up with results that include a variety of mortgage service providers.

Well that dream has become a reality with a search engine that claims it encompasses the entire mortgage ecosystem.

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From:: Financing

Even though a decline was recorded for weekly mortgage applications, the share that were for refinances was the widest it’s been in nearly a year. Jumbo rates suggest investors seek more jumbo product.

In the seven days that finished on Dec. 8, the Market Composite Index retreated by a more than a seasonally adjusted 2 percent from the preceding week.

The week-over-week decline for the index, a measure of retail residential loan application volume, was greater at 4 percent without any seasonal adjustments.

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From:: Financing