Underwriting

As high interest rates make refinancing impossible for many homeowners, increasing numbers of them are turning to HELOCs and home equity loans for cash.

Although credit bureaus have collected this data for three years, it's only now being factored into assessments of consumer creditworthiness.

While lenders have come out with more products for the spring season, rate lock data finds buyers still hesitant to act because of high mortgage rates.

Loans with alternative documentation and high combined loan-to-value ratios had more performance concerns, according to a new KBRA study.

The product, as well as the housing market, is different today than what it was two decades ago, where some feel it was a cause of the financial crisis.

Plaintiffs raise prior accusations that the lender ignored applicants' debts in collections, and used unreasonable residual income calculations.

The partnership between alternative investment managers adds to signs investors see the private mortgage market as attractive, albeit not immune to risk.

For the first time in almost two years, mortgage products available for consumers are at a level established in 2012.

Even though senior home values are still near the all-time high, other data shows fewer are turning to reverse mortgages to ease a potential financial crunch.

Nonagency issuances are expected to increase 85% for this year over 2023, and rise another 36% in 2025, the second best since the financial crisis.

The average cost for a loan seller to buy back a mortgage from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for defects is over $32,000, a study from Reggora and Stratmor found.

Critical defects increased for the second consecutive three-month period, with appraisal-related errors nearly doubling, Aces Quality Management said.

Private-label securitization volume increased 75% this year versus 2023; conditions are right for that to continue, KBRA said.

The Chicago-area lender, which at first was able to get the suit quashed, agreed to end the discrimination case by paying a $105,000 fine.

As it gets ready for more competition from VantageScore, the company also did not comment on reports of yet another impending price hike.

State housing finance agencies had a resurgent fiscal 2023 and the recent fed funds rate reduction could have a mixed impact on them, Fitch Ratings said.

More "Airbnb-style" rental property loans are making their way into non-qualified mortgage securitizations and could they be acting differently from the traditional non-owner occupied loans, a Standard & Poor's report asks.

The change in medical debt reporting initiated by the three credit bureaus did not go far enough as 15 million Americans are still impacted, the groups led by the National Consumer Law Center said.

But those in opposition are still giving the agency props for how it carried out the new product approval process for the first time.

The move allows Freddie Mac to start purchasing certain second lien mortgages, but establishes limits on how much volume it can do.