Guaranty Mortgage

Was something you bought recalled? Would you know and what do you do?

Anatomy of Mortgage Market Meltdown
In 2003, the Alt-A share of the mortgage market was just 2 percent and the subprime share was only 9 percent, according to a report last week from the Government Accountability Office. But by 2006, Alt-A loans represented 16 percent of the market, while subprime encompassed 24 percent, GAO said. “Subprime loans accounted for less than 15 percent of the loans serviced but about two-thirds of the overall increase in the number of mortgages in default and foreclosure from the second quarter of 2005 through the second quarter of 2007,” GAO said. A rapid decline in home appreciation beginning in 2005, leaving borrowers with less opportunity to refinance, as well as relaxed underwriting and lower cash down payments were cited among the factors to hamper loan performance.

Biggest Mortgage Lenders
A preliminary analysis of third quarter earnings data by MortgageDaily.com indicated residential mortgage originations fell nearly 20 percent from the second quarter. Countrywide Financial Corp. reported $95 billion third quarter production, leaving it as the biggest mortgage banker in the country. Wells Fargo & Co. came in next with $68 billion in reported fundings.

Buying, Selling Mortgage Leads
Lead Answer announced it generates “thousands of Live Hot Transfer, Call Verified, and Internet mortgage leads organically, without incentives or giveaways.” Originators also have a new, self-serve mortgage lead generating portal on Low.com. Meanwhile, Intellidyn Corp. released three marketing models designed to help originators accurately identify and market to borrowers who are both credit qualified and most likely to respond to their FHA offerings. Debt Zero LLC provides brokers an opportunity to make money on dead leads for mortgages.

Wachovia v. Ameriquest
Wachovia Bank N.A. has filed a lawsuit against Ameriquest Mortgage Co. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank alleges Ameriquest has not complied with repurchase requests on loans acquired in 2005. Ameriquest was allegedly notified of the breaches and asked to either repurchase the loans or cure the breaches in a series of letters in 2006 and 2007. The nonperforming loans included “incorrect credit scores, false employment status and misstatements of the kind of home being financed,” Wachovia alleges in its complaint.

10 frugal, healthy Halloween treats
Thrill the trick-or-treaters with these fun and healthy treats for their goodie bags.

Mortgage rates are falling today.
Stock prices are falling as disappointing earnings reports come in and as crude oil prices rise. As investors yank their money from stocks, they buy bonds. The increased demand for bonds causes their prices to rise. When bond prices rise, the yields fall.

Day of the living dead
I’m attending the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annnual convention in Boston. It’s like a zombie zone here but maybe things will get better.

Into the confessional
I think mortgage people feel guilty of the sins of sloth and pride.

Applying for new credit can both help and hurt your credit score, says Dr. Don.

Builder Spirits Not Rebounding While Housing Starts, Permints Continue To Slide
There is an old Western expression that a person’s mood is “lower than a snake’s belly.” Well lift up that snake and you just might find a home builder under it. NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders said, “Consumers are still trying to sort out market realities and get the best deals they can. Many prospective buyers may very well have unrealistic expectations regarding new-home prices as well as…” Read More Now

10 frugal, healthy Halloween treats
Thrill the trick-or-treaters with these fun and healthy treats for their goodie bags.

Looks like people are finally starting to take the mortgage situation seriously, and by people we mean the federal government and major industry players. ‘Bout time! There were several major and minor developments in the subprime arena this week that indicates that the people who can actually do something are now paying attention. Read More Now

NAMB, Harvard Professor Dueling Over Op Ed Column
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) and many New England based mortgage brokers had a rude shock last week when a well known Harvard Law School professor slammed the profession on the Op Ed page of The Boston Globe. Elizabeth Warren started her column, entitled “Mortgage brokers’ sleight of hand” by saying; “In the past five years, if you called a mortgage broker when you were about to buy or refinance a house you may have been told…’” Read More Now

10 frugal, healthy Halloween treats
Thrill the trick-or-treaters with these fun and healthy treats for their goodie bags.

Mortgage Rates Generally Ease as Housing Stats Worsen
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist released a statement saying “Mortgage rates eased slightly this week following three weeks of increases. The initial effects of the credit market turmoil that began in August are starting to emerge in… Read More Now

MBA Proposals For Mortgage Fraud Legislation
…Or, if terms are defined too broadly they could allow prosecution for activities that are not fraudulent at all. S. 1222 is once again cited as faulty for defining “mortgage fraud” to include obtaining money, including fees, under “false” pretenses and then failing to fully define that term. An example provided by the report would be a lender recommending a loan to a borrower… Read More Now

Day of the living dead
I’m attending the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annnual convention in Boston. It’s like a zombie zone here but maybe things will get better.

Healthy Halloween on a budget
10 cheap (and healthy) treats to fill the bags of the little ghosts and goblins.

Six-legged lesson
Lenders should freeze the introductory rates on hybrid ARMs to reduce foreclosures, the chairwoman of the FDIC says.

Mortgage bond prices are hovering just above their 200-day moving average and are finding resistance to falling lower than that. That means that it will take some sort of push for mortgage rates to rise today.

Into the confessional
I think mortgage people feel guilty of the sins of sloth and pride.

Lenders, Feds Finally Paying Attention to Mortgage Crunch
Looks like people are finally starting to take the mortgage situation seriously, and by people we mean the federal government and major industry players. ‘Bout time! There were several major and minor developments in the subprime arena this week that indicates that the people who can actually do something are now paying attention. Read More Now

Mortgage Rates Generally Ease as Housing Stats Worsen
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist released a statement saying “Mortgage rates eased slightly this week following three weeks of increases. The initial effects of the credit market turmoil that began in August are starting to emerge in… Read More Now

MBA Proposals For Mortgage Fraud Legislation
…Or, if terms are defined too broadly they could allow prosecution for activities that are not fraudulent at all. S. 1222 is once again cited as faulty for defining “mortgage fraud” to include obtaining money, including fees, under “false” pretenses and then failing to fully define that term. An example provided by the report would be a lender recommending a loan to a borrower… Read More Now

Day of the living dead
I’m attending the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annnual convention in Boston. It’s like a zombie zone here but maybe things will get better.

12 money-saving ways to get ready for the holidays
Don’t wait until 12 days before Christmas to get into the yuletide spirit. With some early holiday planning, you can save money and ease seasonal stress.

Digging out the ol’ conscience
Corporations are searching their attics for those old, rusty social consciences that they set aside when “power ties” became popular lest Congress pass regulations restricting their activities.

Dealing with a product recall
Was something you bought recalled? Would you know and what do you do?

Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo Under SEC Spotlight
Reuters News Service and the Associated Press are both quoting a story in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the controversial CEO of Countrywide Mortgage, Angelo Mozilo, is under an informal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Countrywide is the largest mortgage company in the country and Mozilo, its founder, is generally credited or blamed for the company’s evolution from a mostly conventional lender into one where subprime products dominated. At issue is the sale by Mozilo of some 130 million of his company’s stock in the first six months of 2007. It seems that there is… Read More Now

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.4 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending Oct. 18. The average was unchanged from the prior week. Freddie’s latest forecast has the 30-year averaging its current level this quarter, then rising to and remaining at 6.5% throughout the first half of 2008.

12 money-saving ways to get ready for the holidays
Don’t wait until 12 days before Christmas to get into the yuletide spirit. With some early holiday planning, you can save money and ease seasonal stress.

First Horizon Figures Fall
Mortgage banking production was $7 billion during the third quarter, the parent of First Horizon Home Loans announced. Fundings fell from the second quarter but increased from the third quarter 2006. Losses at the mortgage unit nearly tripled from the prior period.

Don’t wait until 12 days before Christmas to get into the yuletide spirit. With some early holiday planning, you can save money and ease seasonal stress.

Nonfarm payrolls grew by 110,000 in September, according to the Labor Department. That’s within the range that economists had expected.

10 frugal, healthy Halloween treats
Thrill the trick-or-treaters with these fun and healthy treats for their goodie bags.

Lenders should freeze the introductory rates on hybrid ARMs to reduce foreclosures, the chairwoman of the FDIC says.

Mortgage Market Turmoil Continues
Downey Financial Corp. said it expected to incur an operating loss of about $23 million for the third quarter that will reduce net income for the first nine months of the year to $52 million. Sovereign Bancorp Inc. announced it also expects to increase credit loss provisions to between $155 million and $165 from $51 million in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Thornburg Mortgage Inc. said that its third quarter results will likely reflect a $1.1 billion charge. Finkelstein & Krinsk said it filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of Countrywide common stock.

Boom to Bust in Under a Year
Just over a year ago, Dana Capital Corp. was heralding its growth in a self-congratulating press release. Dana boasted about having operations in 47 states, a big increase in year-to-date originations and $5 billion in 2005 production. Less than a year later the company collapsed.

Better news on the jobs front
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 110,000 in September, according to the Labor Department. That’s within the range that economists had expected.

$1 Billion in Commercial Deals
MortgageDaily.com tracked 23 commercial mortgage transactions for more than $1 billion during the latest week. Most of the properties were multifamily, retail and office properties — though assisted care, hotel and industrial deals also made the cut. The latest activity was topped by a $500 million financing secured by Financial Square, a Class A office tower in downtown Manhattan featuring over 1.1 million square feet of office space, according to Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.

Government tests show most gadgets don’t do a thing to help improve mileage.

NAMB, Harvard Professor Dueling Over Op Ed Column
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) and many New England based mortgage brokers had a rude shock last week when a well known Harvard Law School professor slammed the profession on the Op Ed page of The Boston Globe. Elizabeth Warren started her column, entitled “Mortgage brokers’ sleight of hand” by saying; “In the past five years, if you called a mortgage broker when you were about to buy or refinance a house you may have been told…’” Read More Now

MBA Advises Against Broadening Fraud Laws
While news events have conspired to delay finishing the series on fore closure fraud begun here several weeks ago, it seems appropriate to interject mention of a report released recently by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on mortgage fraud. The report is apparently a pre-emptive strike against Congress and various state legislatures to short circuit passage of legislation the trade organization finds inappropriate and to differentiate between MBA’s definitions of mortgage fraud and predatory lending. But bias recognized is bias neutralized and the report does make some interesting points. Read More Now

Dealing with a product recall
Was something you bought recalled? Would you know and what do you do?

Mortgage Market Turmoil Continues
Downey Financial Corp. said it expected to incur an operating loss of about $23 million for the third quarter that will reduce net income for the first nine months of the year to $52 million. Sovereign Bancorp Inc. announced it also expects to increase credit loss provisions to between $155 million and $165 from $51 million in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Thornburg Mortgage Inc. said that its third quarter results will likely reflect a $1.1 billion charge. Finkelstein & Krinsk said it filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of Countrywide common stock.

10 frugal, healthy Halloween treats
Thrill the trick-or-treaters with these fun and healthy treats for their goodie bags.

Skip the dryer, save some energy
You can cut your costs and also help the environment.

12 money-saving ways to get ready for the holidays
Don’t wait until 12 days before Christmas to get into the yuletide spirit. With some early holiday planning, you can save money and ease seasonal stress.

Upside-down owner can avoid sinking into deeper financial hole, says Bankrate car expert Terry Jackson.

Better news on the jobs front
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 110,000 in September, according to the Labor Department. That’s within the range that economists had expected.

Six-legged lesson
Lenders should freeze the introductory rates on hybrid ARMs to reduce foreclosures, the chairwoman of the FDIC says.

Rates bump upward
Prices on mortgage bonds have dropped more than 40 basis points today, and that translates into a rise of almost an eighth of a percentage point for mortgage rates.

No justice for car with 3 bad head gaskets
Owner must take lumps on 18-year-old Lincoln, says Bankrate car expert Terry Jackson.

Dealing with a product recall
Was something you bought recalled? Would you know and what do you do?

Originate to dump
Mortgage bond prices are hovering just above their 200-day moving average and are finding resistance to falling lower than that. That means that it will take some sort of push for mortgage rates to rise today.

12 money-saving ways to get ready for the holidays
Don’t wait until 12 days before Christmas to get into the yuletide spirit. With some early holiday planning, you can save money and ease seasonal stress.

10 frugal, healthy Halloween treats
Thrill the trick-or-treaters with these fun and healthy treats for their goodie bags.