Big Four Urged To Write Down Seconds
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., has resumed his push for financial institutions to write down the second mortgages they hold....
The 800-Pound Platypus
BLOG VIEW: If you were holding your breath in anticipation of the Obama administration's plans to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), I would...
Downturn Recovery Requires A New Era In Automation
REQUIRED READING: Commercial real estate (CRE) lending has been referred to as one of the last frontiers in automation adoption. The current credit...
Winter Woes For Pending-Home Sales
Pending-home sales are down, and additional declines are expected because of abnormal weather conditions, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says. The trade...
Freddie Provides HAMP NPV Model Guidance
The net present value (NPV) modeling component of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) - that is, the test that determines whether or...
Community Bankers Object To Risk Retention
Proposed across-the-board risk retention provisions for mortgages in the House Financial Reform bill and the draft Senate bill are no substitute for good...
Energy-Efficient Mortgages Offer A Double Shade Of Green
REQUIRED READING: Over the last few years, it seems that everyone and everything have been 'going green.' Automobiles, food, clothing, homes and offices...
FDIC To Securitize Failed Banks’ Assets
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is expected this week to price the first of three securitizations that will be backed by loans...
Curbing The Cost Of Substandard Properties
REQUIRED READING: Amidst the unprecedented number of foreclosure sales taking place across the country, servicers and their investors are increasingly faced with properties...
FHFA Extends HARP Through June 2011
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), a refinancing program administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie...
Does It Make Sense To End The Home Buyer Tax Credit?
BLOG VIEW: One of the happiest memories of my childhood was the day that my training wheels were taken off my bicycle. Free...
NAR: Existing-Home Sales Fell In January
Existing-home sales fell 7.2% from December 2009 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units in January, according to the National...
Lender-Directed Short Sales: Rare, But Not Extinct
REQUIRED READING: Even though Fannie Mae and others have kept foreclosures artificially low in recent months, a wave of mortgage loan defaults continues...
Underwater Mortgages In FDIC Viewfinder
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is creating a limited-scale pilot program that will determine the effectiveness of cutting the mortgage balances of...
Freddie Mac Examines PL Servicer Rankings
Freddie Mac is looking to modify its tier ranking system for servicers of performing loans. In a presentation at the Mortgage Bankers Association's...
Healthcare Properties Introduce Special Financing Issues
REQUIRED READING: The development of healthcare real estate, such as medical office buildings (MOBs), has been a rare bright spot during the present...
HFAs Await Details On Obama Market-Stabilization Program
The state housing finance agencies expected to receive federal funding through President Obama's recently announced market-stabilization program are, like everybody else, learning the...
Why Is Karen DeCoster Advocating Strategic Defaults?
PERSON OF THE WEEK: One of the most controversial aspects of today's mortgage banking industry is the rising number of strategic defaults. While...
Tick, Tick…Boom?
BLOG VIEW: I don't shock very easily, but I was taken aback with comments made last week by John P. Hussman, president of...
TARP On A Businesslike Basis: Why A Corporate Approach Is Needed
REQUIRED READING: The closest historical analogue to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is the Reconstruction Finance Corp. (RFC) of the 1930s....