By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Federal officials and members of the mortgage industry are mourning the loss of David Stevens, who helped the country navigate the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis before serving as president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association for seven years.
Stevens worked as the Federal Housing Administration Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under former President Barack Obama. There from 2009 to 2011, he focused on restoring the administration to fiscal health and was a key player in drafting housing policy, according to an article by Reuters.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said on Wednesday in a statement, “This country is better because of David’s service and contributions.”
“Over the course of his…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
A multistate settlement has been reached after a testing error led to the unauthorized withdrawal of $2.3 billion from the accounts of nearly 480,000 mortgage holders serviced by Mr. Cooper.
ACI Payments, a processor for a variety of third-party clients, erroneously initiated the electronic withdrawals in April of 2021, causing consumers stress nationwide. So state banking officials from 44 states and 50 state attorney generals joined together to take action against ACI Worldwide, levying a total of $20 million in fines.
In addition to paying the states, the settlement announced on Tuesday requires ACI to use artificially created data instead of real customer data when testing systems or software. Testing, development, and quality insurance work will now…
Industry veteran Jodi White is joining First Home Mortgage as branch manager of its new Gainesville, VA, office, company officials announced in a press release.
White brings nearly three decades of industry experience to the position, having started her career in 1996 as a loan originator.
“As a proud member of the real estate community in the Commonwealth of Virginia for over 20 years, I’m honored to be representing First Home by helping to open and lead this new branch,” said White. “I believe that partnering with the right lender can make all the difference for a prospective buyer, and through open communication and individual connections, my team and I will work hard to earn the trust of homebuyers in…
By CHUCK GREEN
As the average mortgage rates decline and markets slow in parts of the country that were red-hot during the pandemic, we at The Mortgage Note decided to ask who is currently in favor during negotiations – the buyer or the seller?
It seems that the current consensus on the ground is that there are benefits to being either.
Aaron Kozikowski is a loan officer at Ross Mortgage Corporation. The company is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and serves customers in Michigan, Kentucky, Florida, and Virginia.
Kozikowski said “in this market, we’ve been seeing homes sit on the market longer, which allows buyers to take their time instead of having to put in an offer immediately. Sellers are also…
Leaders at Blue Ridge Bank have announced that Kirsten Muetzel is their new president of the Fintech Division of the company. Muetzel brings over a decade of experience working with the Federal Reserve system, including supervising banks involved in BaaS and related partnerships. Additional experience includes being a Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer for fintech companies. Muetzel will be responsible for overseeing the Fintech Division, managing a portfolio of partners, strengthening regulatory compliance, and working to advance Blue Ridge’s fintech strategy. Muetzel said in a statement that there continue to be significant opportunities for banks to develop relationships with fintech firms and create new revenue streams while in turn enhancing products and services to existing customers. “Community banks are uniquely…
By CHUCK GREEN Alleged bad behavior and fraudulent activity in the mortgage industry have made news headlines in recent years and despite attempts to get lending leaders to shape up their ships, at least one person who reports on these issues says problems are common, even “rampant.” One of the most recent examples of these alleged incidents involved sham job interviews for Black and female candidates at Wells Fargo & Company. Wells Fargo in California has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. They serve one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses in the United States. According to former executive Joe Bruno, company leaders at Wells Fargo allegedly put minority candidates through the interview process for positions…
By DOUG OHLEMEIER Despite many employees working from home and companies adopting hybrid work models, investors are still attracted to the land of cubicles. While office suites aren’t as packed with workers as before the pandemic, the commercial market remains strong. “There is investor interest in office properties,” said Stephen Newbold, National Director in the U.S. office of research for Colliers International, a Toronto, Ontario-based global real estate services and investment management company. “We are at a stage where we can fairly confidently say that we’re not going back to those (2020) levels. It may fluctuate a little, but my overarching view is we are stabilizing on vacancies and space on the market.” Observers aren’t sure how the new work…
Despite challenging conditions for first-time homebuyers, Millennials are actively engaging in the housing market, especially in the nation’s largest metros, according to a new analysis from LendingTree. The analysis found that Millennials– people aged 25 to 40 in 2021– make up a majority of homebuyers in most of the US’s largest metros, especially Denver, Seattle, and Boston. Of mortgages offered in Denver, 63.3% were offered to Millennials. In Seattle, 61.35% were offered to Millennials, and in Boston, 61.08%. Miami, Jacksonville, and Tampa have the smallest share of buyers in this age group, at 46.54% across all three markets. San Francisco, New York, and San Jose have the greatest portion of older Millennials, with an average age of 33.51%, while Indianapolis,…
Bidding wars on home offers from Redfin fell to 59.5% in November, their lowest level in eleven months, the company reported. It’s the first time it’s fallen below 60% since December 2020. Month-over-month, bidding wars fell 2.3%, dropping from 61.8% in October. However, they were up slightly year-over-year, from 57.3% in November 2020. They reached a pandemic peak in April when 74.6% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition. The top three cities for bidding wars were Richmond, VA, at 80%, Salt Lake City at 73.8%, and San Diego at 72%. Honolulu followed up at 71.1% and Dallas just made the top five at 70.6%. “Bidding wars are still happening, but buyers are starting to get more breathing…
Both homeowners and lenders may be underestimating the rising cost of insurance following a growing number of natural disasters, according to a SitusAMC white paper titled “Weathering the Storm: Burgeoning Insurance Costs for Real Estate.” The paper found that natural disasters have impacted residential property nationwide, not just in areas with highly publicized disasters such as California and Florida. The states with the most natural disasters were Texas (where winter storms accounted for 40% in total insurance market losses in 2021), Virginia, and South Dakota. As the number of disasters rises and their severity intensifies, insurance companies will face more risk, leading to higher insurance premiums and reductions in coverage for property owners. “The growing number of climate events has…
