Servicers Adjusting To New Landlord Duties, Says MCS CEO
PERSON OF THE WEEK: It's been almost one year since the omnibus Helping Homeowners Save Their Homes Act was signed into law. To...
Reform Bill Heads To Full Senate
The Senate Banking Committee, voting 13-10 along party lines, has approved Sen. Chris Dodd's financial reform legislation, sending the bill to the full...
The Chris Dodd Comedy Hour
BLOG VIEW: I am not entirely certain what was the literary inspiration for Sen. Chris Dodd's latest epic - a 1,336-page revised version...
House Republicans Call For Winding Down Of GSEs
House Republicans are calling for government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be phased out within four years, according to a...
A California-Brewed Recipe For Litigation
REQUIRED READING: As many readers may recall, the California Legislature enacted Civil Code Section (§) 2923.5 in July 2008, requiring that the foreclosing...
Hearing Explores Fed’s Supervisory Roles
The Federal Reserve's oversight of banks of all sizes is indispensable to the central bank's crafting of monetary policy, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke...
Fannie Mae Cuts Projections
Citing sharp drops in both new- and existing-home sales in January, Fannie Mae's Economics and Mortgage Market Analysis group has revised its total...
Federal Funds Rate Left Unchanged
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Tuesday confirmed that the Federal Reserve's purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and agency debt are...
Awaiting The Onslaught Of Foreclosed Properties
REQUIRED READING: For some time now, commercial real estate professionals have been anticipating a wave of foreclosures. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth...
Trade Groups Offer Feedback To Dodd
Sen. Chris Dodd's long-awaited financial reform draft legislation, released Monday, has drawn immediate attention from the mortgage banking community. As was widely expected,...
Finding Employees And Employment, With Michael D. Zinn
PERSON OF THE WEEK: Are you in the market for a new job? Is your company looking to hire new loan officers? This...
Permanent HAMP Mods See 45% Bump In Feb.
Permanent modifications under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) rose by about 45% in February, bringing the total to 170,207 modifications, the Treasury...
What Ever Happened To Sugar Mae?
BLOG VIEW: I was recently going through some of my older articles, and I came across a news item that I wrote 20...
BofA Nears 21,000 Permanent HAMP Mods
Bank of America has completed 20,666 permanent mortgage modifications under the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), according to the bank's latest...
Going Down The Road: Community Banks Keep Moving
REQUIRED READING: Whoever coined the observation that 'bigger is better' was obviously not aware of community banks. During the peak period of the...
CRE Finance Update: Part II – The Road To Recovery?
This week, MortgageOrb continues its special series of reports addressing the commercial real estate (CRE) market's unique struggles during the economic downturn and...
Landlord Skills Help Expand Servicers’ Options
REQUIRED READING: A confluence of factors has positioned pre- and post-foreclosure rental and lease strategies as appealing options for servicers. Last May's federal...
Survey: Greater GSE Subsidization Won’t Help Markets
Results from the National Association of Business Economics' (NABE) recent economic policy survey suggest that greater explicit subsidization of Fannie Mae and Freddie...
Thomas K. Shelton Diagnoses The Debt Crisis
PERSON OF THE WEEK: According to Thomas K. Shelton, president of Western National Property Management, the problems in commercial real estate (CRE) finance...
Five-Year Loans Drive CMBS Delinquencies Higher
Upcoming maturities from U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) deals that originated in 2005 contributed to a 29 basis point (bp) increase in delinquencies...