Coronavirus

From guidelines for remote appraisal alternatives to the ways that forbearance affects borrowers' ability to get new loans, here are five examples of mortgage requirements that have been in flux since the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

The enhanced jobless benefits in the coronavirus relief law enacted in March helped limit delinquencies and maintain consumer spending, analysts say. In their follow-up stimulus plan, Senate Republicans want to cut those benefits from $600 to $200 a week.

A likely weathervane for how single-family rentals are being affected by the pandemic, the $826.2 million securitization by FirstKey Homes is ultimately secured by income stemming from home rentals located in current COVID-19 hotspots including Florida and Arizona.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance dropped for the sixth consecutive week, as the growth rate fell 6 basis points between July 13 and July 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

As home loans surge and lenders look to expand, they're doing a cost-benefit analysis on the possibility of opening more commercial locations.

The CEOs of the credit card lenders Discover and Synchrony are urging Congress to come through with another round of government stimulus so that struggling households can continue paying their bills.

Many commercial property owners are locked out of existing coronavirus relief by financing terms that bar them from taking new loans. Under a House bill, they would receive government-backed equity investments.

Delinquencies have been ticking up since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Capital One is warning of more pain unless the government provides additional relief to tenants and landlords.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have imposed heavy price adjustments for loans that were granted relief under the pandemic relief law enacted in March.

The measures currently ensuring mortgage companies have sufficient cash to cover advances aren't necessarily sustainable, warns Ted Tozer, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute and a former government official.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance dropped for the fifth straight week, as the growth rate plummeted 38 basis points between July 6 and July 12, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency will extend the same GSE benchmarks of the past three years into 2021.

Mortgages taken out to fund business operations can now be modified in bankruptcy. That’s a relief to borrowers — particularly with business failures expected to increase as the pandemic drags on — but a possible headache for banks and investors that hold the loans.

Ocwen Financial's preliminary second-quarter results put it back in the black, and it is positioning its growing distressed-servicing expertise and pandemic-induced exposures as a net positive.

A strong housing market prior to the pandemic and the subsequent coronavirus-related moratorium helped to pull foreclosure activity down to historic lows in the first half of 2020, though that could all change soon, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Some 60% of Ally’s auto originations in the second quarter were used-vehicle loans, the highest percentage in the company's history.

The coronavirus relief law allows forbearance plans for up to a year on federally backed mortgages, but House Democrats say homeowners have had difficulty getting relief.

Bankers had asserted in April that they could handle a slump in oil prices tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Continued volatility, combined with declining collateral values and a rise in bankruptcies for exploration companies, is denting their confidence.

The number of loans going into coronavirus-related forbearance fell for the fourth consecutive week, as the growth rate plummeted 21 basis points between June 29 and July 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The amount far surpassed that of any other servicer required to purchase Ginnie Mae-backed loans that were 90 days past due.