Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
The deadliest pandemic in more than a century has failed to derail the housing market because of the lowest mortgage rates ever recorded coupled with a shift in how people use their homes. “The buyers are coming in because of the low interest rates – that’s the No. 1 reason,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors said in an interview with HousingWire.
Midtown Appraisal Group
AUGUST 30, 2020
The answer is…it depends. As an appraiser, I’m often asked some version of this question: “My house is a mess and I just found out they want to send the appraiser tomorrow. Do you think it’ll make a huge difference to the appraised value?” The standard, professional answer is, of course: “No, it won’t affect […].
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
McKissock
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
In the past two blog posts in this series, I discussed the pros and cons of complex appraisal assignments and why today’s residential appraiser may want to consider specializing in “odd” or “atypical” assignments. In this post, I’ll give a few more examples of complex properties, and then I’ll talk about how to tackle them using nonstandard appraisal methods and techniques.
PennyMac
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
When shopping for a home, many of us know our basic focal points, such as identifying the right neighborhood or finding a house with the ideal number of bedrooms and bathrooms. These factors are important, but there are other home features (some very large and some very small) that can greatly contribute to the enjoyment of your new home. Let's make sure you don’t miss any of them.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
According to Census data, approximately 21% of renter households are behind on rent payment, and it’s estimated that up to 40 million renters could face eviction over the next few months after federal eviction moratoriums expired in late July. Now, states and localities are deciding if and when to end or extend eviction moratoriums. Today, eviction moratoriums are expiring in Atlanta and Pennsylvania.
REX Real Estate
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
Whether you are a skilled photographer or art lover, building a gallery wall is…
Property Appraisal Zone brings together the best content for appraisal professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
PennyMac
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
VA home loans have many well-known benefits, including low rates and the exciting combination of no down payment and no mortgage insurance. Lenders are able to offer veterans these excellent terms because VA home loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In addition to major down payment flexibility, VA loans offer many more useful features that you may not know about.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
Black Knight has acquired DocVerify to boost its e-notarization capabilities. Black Knight announced the purchase of the privately held company on Thursday, without disclosing the terms of the transaction. “The acquisition helps accelerate Black Knight’s goal of digitizing the entirety of the real estate and mortgage continuum as DocVerify’s trusted and proven digital document verification capabilities are already seamlessly integrated with Expedite Close, Black Knight’s digital closing platform
REX Real Estate
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
Homes sales have largely recovered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and wide-spread…
McKissock
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
Real estate investment crowdfunding is becoming the go-to for many developers who can’t or don’t want to go the traditional route to gain funding for a project. It’s also gaining popularity as a low-risk way for investors to break into real estate investing or expand an already established portfolio. As a result, companies that specialize in online real estate crowdfunding platforms are springing up and making the whole process of real estate investing more efficient, quicker, and less expensive
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consent order against two companies on Tuesday following recent investigations of mortgage companies that use deceptive mailers to advertise loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Those investigations have resulted in actions against six companies this summer. The most recent cases were those against Service 1st Mortgage, Inc. , and Hypotec Inc., which found the companies had sent consumers numerous mailers for VA-g
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consent order against mortgage broker and lender Accelerate Mortgage on Wednesday following recent investigations of mortgage companies that use deceptive mailers to advertise loans guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Accelerate’s investigation marks the seventh company this summer to settle with the CFPB for similar actions.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
WEST , a Williston Financial Group company, announced this week that its cybersecurity service WESTprotect.com , created to aid title and real estate agents as well as lenders from potential online risks and email fraud, is now available on an on-demand and self-serve basis. The site offers free sign-up for fraud alert warnings, risk reports, and the company’s cybersecurity help desk, WESTprotect 411 – an email-analysis subscription service that analyzes suspicious emails and reports back within
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
realtor.com named Bob Evans vice president of industry relations, where he will lead the company’s long-standing efforts to engage and support its industry partners. This includes Realtor associations, MLSs, agents, brokers, lenders and title companies. Bringing 35 years of industry experience to his new positions, Evans said that he is “thrilled to move into this role at such a pivotal time in our industry and for the company.”.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
Mortgage applications fell 2% last week, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, marking the third week of declines. The refinance index also fell 3% last week, however remained 40% higher than the same week one year ago. Despite 30-year fixed and 15-year fixed mortgage rates declining to near historical lows, both conventional and government refinancing activity fell last week, said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
RE/MAX Holdings and its mortgage franchise Motto Mortgage announced Tuesday the acquisition of wemlo , a mortgage processing startup, for an undisclosed amount. Dustin Morton, vice president of product and strategy at Motto Mortgage, recognized wemlo’s potential right away. “Our network has grown so fast, and we’re always kind of hungry for more solutions when it comes to processing,” Morton told HousingWire.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
The banks need bodies. Documents need to be collected, credit scores need to be checked, appraisers need to be arranged. There’s a lot of mortgages to be processed. Across its mortgage footprint, “ Citizens Bank has hired close to 100 underwriters, processors and loan officers this year to keep up with the demand and further their commitment in the mortgage retail space,” said Ace Watanasuparp, who heads residential lending for Citizens in New York City.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
This year’s low rates have led to high loan volumes, and lenders overwhelmed with applications are looking for the best way to handle the increased workload. Scaling up staffing can help, but it can be difficult to find enough people to take care of the manual processes to keep up with the demand. And hiring in a wave of high volumes can mean layoffs when the market is less robust.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
An analysis of recent real estate licensing trends released by Agent Advice this week reveals that licensing rates are beginning to recover from a precipitous drop caused by COVID-19 in March and April. Guest Author, Jasen Edwards. Data pulled from California, Texas, and Florida (which together capture 36% of real estate licensees in the United States) indicates that prospective real estate agents, and the real estate industry as a whole, experienced a collective slow-down in March and April as
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a net gain of $4,548 on each loan they originated in the second quarter of 2020 – nearly tripling the average first-quarter gain of $1,600 per loan, according to a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Average production volume rose from $728 million per company in the first quarter to an average of $1.02 billion per company in the second quarter.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
[ Update: The story has been updated to include a comment from a CoreLogic spokesperson. The subhead has also been updated to reflect the views of both firms as it had originally stated that CoreLogic was bound to hold a special meeting as a result of the written consent. ]. Cannae Holdings and Senator Investment Group announced on Monday that written consent to call a Special Meeting of Shareholders was delivered to CoreLogic for consideration of director nominations previously introduced by th
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
Insurers will have to fork over billions of dollars to pay for damage that property owners incurred from Hurricane Laura last week. Data and analytics provider CoreLogic estimated that residential and commercial property damage in Louisiana and Texas could come in anywhere between $8 billion and $12 billion, with the vast majority of the damage coming in Louisiana.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
Digital lender Beeline plans to hire over 300 new employees total by September 2021 – with over 100 new positions opening in Charlotte, North Carolina and Providence, Rhode Island, the company said Monday. After its initial launch by industry veterans Nick Liuzza, Peter Gonzalez, Jess Kennedy, Greg Ellis and Jay Stockwell in May with $7.6 million in funding, the once 30-person company said it is looking to expand beyond its Northeastern home base.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
Mr. Cooper , a nonbank mortgage lender and servicer, announced on Wednesday the company plans to hire an additional 2,000 mortgage professionals and support staff by the end of 2020. The company is hiring for positions with multiple experience levels including loan officers, mortgage underwriters and loan processors. Mr. Cooper is also looking for potential Home Advisors, a company curated hybrid role that focuses on servicing customer loans and originating mortgage products.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
With the world in need of more hope right now, Academy Mortgage is taking action to make a difference. Academy was built on a vision to Inspire Hope, Deliver Dreams and Build Prosperity — a set of values that are not simply listed in a mission statement hanging on an office wall. Academy teams walk the talk in serving and lifting others, whether by helping families achieve homeownership or by donating time, talents and resources to those in need.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
Citadel Servicing Corporation returned to origination in July, bringing in new leaders as part of its strategy to remain best-in-class. HousingWire spoke to Doug Perry, Citadel’s new managing director of Wholesale and Retail Sales, about his plans for Citadel and the current state of non-QM lending. HousingWire: Tell us a bit about your background and your plans for Citadel Servicing as its new managing director of Wholesale and Retail Sales.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
When we think of frontline workers, we often think of emergency rooms full of doctors and nurses in hazmat suits. But these are not the only real heroes. The real heroes include every one of the people who are “essential” to making the health care machine work — Yes, the doctors and nurses, but also the home health care, orderlies, phlebotomists, police officers, mental health workers, physician assistants, the people who clean up, drivers, clerical workers.
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
Consumers are looking for a faster, more digital home buying experience, with self-serve options where possible. Mortgage and real estate companies want to maintain business continuity amid COVID-19-related shifts while still working seamlessly and efficiently. Leveraging tech solutions is the way to go, with automation, data and other capabilities helping streamline the experience while saving companies time and money.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
The federal government’s jobless data that tracks new claims for unemployment benefits tumbled 13% last week to the lowest reading since mid-March – before schools, offices and stores closed amid the worst pandemic in more than a century. It’s good news for a number tracked in the mortgage and housing industries as a gauge of America’s home-buyer power , but it comes with a catch: The Department of Labor changed the way it computes the seasonally adjusted number and it didn’t apply it retroactiv
Housing Wire
AUGUST 31, 2020
In times of turmoil, it’s common to see a Mr. Rogers quote circulating the internet, encouraging us to “Look for the helpers.” Fortunately, in the midst of uncertainty, many in the housing industry are stepping up and continuing to push forward to help their communities despite the hurdles they may face at home and in the home office. It’s not surprising that that housing industry – whose primary goal is to place people in homes – would take pride in volunteering time and resources to support th
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020
SimpleNexus Hybrid eClose. Hybrid eClose with SimpleNexus improves process efficiencies, streamlines borrower experiences and enhances settlement agent collaboration. Borrowers enjoy a one log-in experience and mobile eSign convenience. Deep LOS integration gives lenders more accurate data exchange during the closing transaction and a dedicated closing portal enables better collaboration with settlement agents.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
Nearly one month after Ellie Mae announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange , ICE announced Friday that it had received regulatory approval and fully completed its $11 billion acquisition. “We are excited to begin the next important chapter in our journey to digitize the residential mortgage industry,” said Jeff Sprecher, founder, chairman and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
Surefire CRM. From individuals to enterprise lenders, Surefire CRM helps thousands of mortgage lenders and mortgage loan officers win new business, earn repeat business and gain referral business with intuitive “set it and forget it” workflows and award-winning content that inspires emotional connections with customers. Product Fast Facts. #1. Surefire CRM was voted the #1 most-used CRM in the industry in 2018 and 2019. #2.
Housing Wire
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
If you were closing on a mortgage in Florida, it wouldn’t matter if it was 1950 or 2019 — the closing process was exactly the same, according to Title ClearingHouse of Jacksonville President Valerie Saunders. Then, 2020 changed everything. “I got into this business over 20 years ago, and it really had not changed for the last 20 years until remote online notarization and hybrid closings came around,” Saunders said. eClosings are all the rage as stay-at-home orders and fears of the pandemic
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
546 
Let's personalize your content