Scaling from Freelancer to Business Owner

HECM endorsements rose 16% in March to 2,117 loans, but monthly volumes remain near their slowest pace since last summer as proprietary reverse products quietly steal market share. View the full article

Finance of America has not disclosed any incident, but a consumer filed an immediate lawsuit over a lone report of a ransomware gang's recent hack. View the full article

Mortgage rates rising nearly 40 basis points from early-year lows have pushed some buyers out of the market, even as inventory and affordability remain better than a year ago, ICE Mortgage Technology found. View the full article

Mike Kortas will be adding a separate mortgage servicing company and hiring NEXA loan officers to assist with the process and give them customer insights. View the full article

In other news, Better Mortgage completed warehouse renewals and Wolters Kluwer provided a new form of access to its digital vault platform for secured parties. View the full article

An appellate court reversed part of an $8.5 million award for attorneys who secured a $38.5 settlement against the lender in 2023 in a False Claims Act case. View the full article

As the US‑Israel‑Iran war disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and boosts oil prices, investors and trade flows are responding, creating mixed pressures on mortgage rates, housing costs and building materials. View the full article

Borrowers or lenders could use the prediction markets as a hedging tool, although experts noted the lack of trading volume as cause for caution. View the full article

The pace of applications and closings on new construction fell from January, while the average loan size also declined, despite a period of lower rates. View the full article

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have begun placing sizable orders to purchase mortgage-backed securities, stepping into a market roiled by widening bond spreads and a surge in volatility, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. View the full article

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley repeated his long-standing criticism of Fair Isaac Corp. in a letter noting the detrimental impact of its prices on home buyers. View the full article

Lowering minimum standards and using a 2018 proposal as a basis for change may be the quickest path, according to Donald Layton, Freddie Mac's CEO from 2012 to 2019. View the full article

The latest rise in property tax collections at the end of last year continued a nine-quarter streak of increases, according to the National Association of Home Builders. View the full article

The Department of Justice is seeking court approval to immediately fire more than 600 employees, slashing the CFPB's workforce by 53%. View the full article

The product preserves borrower's first mortgage, and its potentially lower mortgage rate, without requiring the new monthly payments of a traditional HELOC, FOA says. View the full article

A United Wholesale Mortgage executive stepped in to defend a claim against the company, as consumers pelt the industry with more spam call complaints. View the full article

Better is focusing on its U.S. mortgage unit, which reported higher-than-expected preliminary loan volumes and priced a stock offering. View the full article

Most of the loans, 57.34%, are for cashout purposes and the entire loan pool are first-liens, and are of modest leverage, with an original cumulative loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 69.74%. View the full article

Affordability improved in February as rates dipped below 6%, but March's climb to 6.43% signals tougher months ahead. Lenders should act now on pockets of opportunity before rising rates erode recent gains. View the full article

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's portfolios were collectively $10 billion larger than in January, spurred in part by their mortgage-backed securities directive. View the full article

The companies anticipate they will submit a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice within 45 days, according to a document filed Friday. View the full article