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Mortgage Headlines
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Last Updated Tuesday, February 22, 2005 09:06 AM CST
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The Credit Score
FICO scores, used by most mortgage lenders to determine a borrower's level of future credit risk, are derived from data reported by the "Big Three" national credit-reporting agencies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each independently collects data from creditors, public records agencies and other sources of financial information, then uses software developed by Fair Isaac and Company to formulate a credit score, according to myFICO.com.
FBR Now an Originator
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc. announced it completed the acquisition of 100% of the equity interest of First NLC Financial Services LLC.The investment banker said the acquisition was part of a broader strategy to expand the types of mortgage assets it owns in its real estate investment trust portfolio -- keeping for portfolio a significant portion of First NLC's originated loans and financing them through the issuance of asset-backed securities.
Financial Freedom Reports Record
Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp. announced Thursday it funded more than $1.6 billion in loans last year -- a jump over 2003. The volume consisted of a record 19,850 loans closed.
IndyMac Stands Out
An executive vice president from IndyMac Bank wrote a letter to MortgageDaily.com regarding previous coverage of FindProfit's analysis of financial activity for various subprime lenders. The executive criticized a comparison with Accredited Home Lenders -- noting that thrifts like IndyMac have always received significantly higher P/E multiples than mortgage banks and securitizers.
Spouses Compete for Originations
The co-CEO of a Miami, Fla.-based lender works with her husband, a production manager. The company also employs two other married couples that compete for sales production incentives, as well as the president and his wife.
Rates Up, Apps Stagnant
At 5.62%, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased 5 basis points within the past week, according to Freddie Mac. Application volume was unchanged for the week ending Feb. 11, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.
2004 Thrift Production Off
During 2004, thrift institutions originated $689.1 billion in mortgage loans, the Office of Thrift Supervision announced. The total did not surpass the record set in 2003.
Flat Fee Net Branching
One net branch operation enables branch managers to originate as many loans as they please for a flat monthly fee. A competitor noted that flat fee programs give branch managers the advantage of saving money, but a disadvantage is that they are difficult to administer.
Writer Drives Mortgage Company Out of Business
A Pulitzer Prize-winning writer is in the middle of a bitter family dispute with his son-in-law, according to a federal lawsuit. The now former son-in-law is seeking nearly $1.4 million in damages against the writer for spreading rumors so defamatory that he was forced to close his mortgage business.
American Residential Adding Hundreds of Jobs
American Residential Funding Inc. plans to add 20-30 new mortgage banking jobs this year, the company's president and CEO told MortgageDaily.com. In addition, another 100-200 loan agents are expected to be on board by the end of 2005.
Mortgage Investors Out $20 Million
Losses at a residential and commercial mortgage broker and lender that offered investments backed by mortgage loan real estate collateral could exceed $20 million, according to Florida court records. A judge has placed the company in receivership and an auditor who has studied the financial operation of the company has described in court papers what sounds like a classic Ponzi scheme -- old investors being paid off with money put up by new investors.
LTVs Rising for New Retirees
A report from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies analyzed generational trends of borrowers nearing retirement and found that the amount of mortgage debt carried later in life has been increasing, while the share of borrowers having completely paid off their mortgage debt has been declining. "More than before -- and later in life -- homeowners are now tapping into their home equity by borrowing against home equity or reinvesting less than was gained on the home sold when buying another home," the authors wrote.
Ousted Fannie Exec Tops CFO List
Institutional Investor Magazine announced the top finance CFOs of 2004 in its second annual ranking of America's Best CFOs. Timothy Howard -- who resigned from beleaguered Fannie Mae late last year amid accounting concerns -- was named top finance chief financial officer.
Record 2004 Impac Originations, But Quarter Off
Impac Funding Corp. acquired and originated nearly $6.4 billion in mortgages during the fourth quarter, off from the previous quarter, the parent company announced. During all of 2004, fundings totaled a record $22.2 billion -- soaring above the previous year.
Stand-Up Broker
A Pleasanton, Calif., mortgage broker has turned a long divorce process into the basis for a stand-up comedy routine. "I was only married for two years," he told MortgageDaily.com. "And it took two and a half to get divorced!"
Bad Underwriting at Heart of Class Action Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit suit claims Bombardier Capital "disseminated" a prospectus for a securitization of manufactured housing loans that contained "materially false and misleading information" about their quality. "Borrower creditworthiness was regularly disregarded," the lawyer who filed the lawsuit alleged.
Group to Police Lender Overcharges
National Mortgage Complaint Center announced it will team up with "honest" property management firms or real estate firms to protect borrowers from being "overcharged or defrauded by a greedy mortgage lender." The center said it found, in its recent survey, many consumers were being cheated and bilked.
MortgageIT to Expand Subprime Operation
MortgageIT Holdings Inc. said it expects to open several new wholesale subprime branches across the country and add dozens of people during the first quarter. The lender made the disclosure in its preliminary fourth quarter operating data released in lieu of delayed financial results.
Mortgage Broker Gunned Down
An Oakland mortgage broker was found shot dead in the early morning hours of Feb. 6 in a neighborhood close to where he grew up. The area is locally infamous for sideshows, what local police and officials say are illegal car rallies known for reckless driving as well as reckless people.
The ABCs of FHA
Described as a comprehensive "how-to" source book covering subjects from direct endorsement authority through insuring, the Practical Guide to FHA Lending is an online tool that concentrates information spread across HUD handbooks and mortgagee letters, according to AllRegs, an online publisher of reference information.
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Copyright © 2004 MortgageDaily.com
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