Foreclosures

Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York signaled which legislative provisions Democratic leaders would accept in a bipartisan housing finance package.

In a unanimous ruling, the court placed new limits on the ability of consumers to sue law firms that handle foreclosures on behalf of mortgage servicers.

Fewer mortgage borrowers are falling behind on their payments, and consumers' broader borrowing habits indicate an increased willingness to turn to nontraditional sources like fintechs for their lending needs, according to TransUnion.

Late payments on loans backing commercial mortgage bonds continued falling at the start of the year, due to strong new issuance volume and continued resolutions for precrisis loans by special servicers, according to Fitch Ratings.

As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

An agency report said servicing portfolios have shrunk by nearly half in 10 years as much of the mortgage market has shifted to nonbanks.

The government-sponsored enterprises sold fewer nonperforming loans in the first half, but the drop-off in the number of sales year-to-year is less severe than it was in 2017 as a whole.

After falling to its lowest level in over 12 years, servicers expected September's surge in delinquencies following the damage of Hurricane Florence, according to Black Knight.

Destruction from Michael's storm surge and flooding has potential to affect 57,000 homes, with a worst-case total of $13.4 billion in reconstruction cost value, according to CoreLogic's latest estimates.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued new capital requirements for private mortgage insurers that will create big swings in carriers' asset reserves.

Florence's flooding and wind destruction affected about 700,000 residential and commercial properties across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, according to CoreLogic's latest estimates.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rates are likely to continue to decrease for the rest of the year, as new issuances outpace maturing loans and precrisis loans continued to get resolved by special servicers, Fitch Ratings said.

While the severity of Florence was reduced prior to Friday morning's landfall, mortgage servicers are taking proactive steps in addressing the emergency situation.

The 30-day delinquency rate dropped to a low not seen in over a decade in July, but foreclosure starts also increased to a three-month high.

The new policy, meant to assist borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will let servicers evaluate borrowers using pre-disaster payment information.

Just 5.1% of the $91 million of liens backing the transaction are vacant, down from 9.2% of the prior deal; this allowed the sponsor to borrower more heavily against the value of hte collateral.

There was a modest decline in hurricane-related delinquent mortgages in February, a sign that there are lingering problems in the affected markets.

Over 40% of the collateral is from two 2016-vintage transactions that were recently "collapsed" because proceeds from liquidations had slowed. Then there's the exposure to Puerto Rico.

With few foreclosed homes left to pick up on the cheap, the biggest landlords are buying, or building, new single-family homes to pad their portfolios; mortgages on these properties could show up as collateral in rental bonds.

The council is exploring legislation to collect around $492 million in delinquent real estate taxes that could aid the city’s school district.