Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced Wednesday that temporary assistance is available to homeowners impacted by a natural disaster, including the wildfires on the West Coast and the Hurricane Sally in the Gulf region. Fannie and Freddie urged homeowners impacted by the disasters to contact their mortgage servicers after the disaster to determine what assistance they may be entitled to. Assistance includes suspending or reducing payments for up to 90 days, suspending foreclosures, and forbearance on mortgage payments for up to a year. “The priority is for homeowners to get themselves and their loved ones safely out of harm’s way,” said Bill Maguire, Freddie Mac’s Vice President of Single-Family Servicing Portfolio Management. “Once out of harm’s way, homeowners whose homes…
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria on Wednesday defended his agency’s much maligned “adverse market fee” that is designed to help cover losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “Conservative estimates price COVID-19 related costs for the Enterprises at roughly $6 billion … (and) $4 billion is from expected loan losses due to projected forbearance defaults,” Calabria testified before the House Committee on Financial Services. “The expected losses associated with the foreclosure moratorium amount to at least $1 billion. Other forbearance-related expenses and fees, such as the $500 fee the Enterprises pay to servicers for loss mitigation, account for another $1 billion.” The fee on refinances – which drew criticism from members…
As the coronavirus pandemic drags into summer, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Thursday that it is extending flexible loan origination policies for another month. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policies, which had been set to expire at the end of July, will be extended until the end of August. They include: Alternative appraisals on purchase and rate term refinance loans;Alternative methods for documenting income and verifying employment before loan closing; andExpanding the use of power of attorney and remote online notarizations to assist with loan closings.…
As the Supreme Court wrapped up its current term, it announced Thursday that it would hear a pair of cases related to litigation around the structure and payout dividend payout practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Reuters reported. Reuters reports: The justices will review a 2019 ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that shareholders in the two companies could pursue a challenge to the 2012 agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department. The deal eliminated dividend payouts to various shareholders and required the companies to pay the U.S. Treasury an amount equal to their quarterly net worth each quarter. The court also took up a related appeal brought by the shareholders…
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Monday that it will not implement new financial eligibility requirements for mortgage lenders that service or sell loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The new requirements, announced Jan. 31, were to be implemented this month. “Due to recent market events, the Federal Housing Finance Agency … will be re-proposing the updated minimum financial eligibility requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Seller/Servicers,” FHFA said in a statement. “FHFA has determined that it is prudent to work with the Enterprises to reassess and re-propose these requirements, including incorporating lessons learned from the evolving COVID-19 national emergency.” The revised requirements would have forced mortgage sellers and servicers to maintain a base net worth of $2.5…
By Jim Perskie Nearly half of the non-performing loans sold by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector last year were located in New York, New Jersey or Florida, according to a report released Monday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The report found that 44 percent of the loans – known as NPLs – transferred last year were in those three states. A loan is deemed non-performing when the borrower is in default and does not pay the monthly principal and interest repayments for a specified period – often 90 days or depending on the terms of the mortgage agreement. Freddie and Fannie sell non-performing loans to reduce the number of delinquent loans in the their portfolios and…
Good morning! Today is Thursday, April 23. The House is expected to approve an additional $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program targeted to small businesses hurt by the coronavirus. Harvard will return its $9 million federal stimulus check. President Trump announced that national parks will reopen. And in mortgage and housing news … GSE’S PURCHASE: The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that it will allow Fannie and Freddie to purchase some single-family mortgages in forbearance in an attempt to support the liquidity of mortgage lenders during the coronavirus pandemic. HOME PRICES: Home prices in the United States rose 0.7 percent in February over the previous month – and 5.7 percent over a year earlier, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced. NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: MBS Highway President and…
