Lured by faster turnarounds, lower rates and generally fewer hassles, new home buyers flocked to the conventional mortgage market at a record pace during 2002. According to year-end government numbers, conventional mortgage financing accounted for 81 percent of the record 976,000 new homes sold last year. That was up from 80 percent in 2001 and was the highest level ever recorded.
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Mortgage escrow servicers would be facing up to treble damages for violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act under legislation pending in the House Financial Services Committee. Introduced by Rep. Robert Andrews, D-NJ, last month, the Homeowners’ Escrow Payments Assurance Act would allow affected homeowners to sue and collect treble damages from mortgage servicers that fail to
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Large mortgage banking companies and consumer advocacy groups have paraded into the Department of Housing and Urban Development over the last few months, hoping to steer the agency their way in its development of a final rule to overhaul the mortgage origination process.
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The Financial Services Roundtable is forming a new lobby group to represent large lenders that are active in the subprime market and unwilling to put all their eggs in the Mortgage Bankers Association of America’s basket. The FSR, which represents 100 of the largest financial institutions in the country, is still in the early stages of discussion with at least four major institutions about
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Mortgage delinquency rates appeared little changed over the last three months of 2002, although a spike in short-term payment lapses may lead to higher delinquencies down the road. The Inside Mortgage Finance Large Servicer Delinquency Index dropped slightly, from 4.71 percent in the third quarter to 4.70 percent in the final quarter of 2002. The data are drawn from 25 of the largest servicers
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While 2002 was definitely the year of the refi mortgage, it was also a big year for the 15-year variation of that loan. Year-end numbers from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac suggest that the 15-year share of total mortgage originations last year climbed to the highest level in recent history. In Fannie’s case, the 15-year share of total mortgage purchases jumped from 10 percent
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The top 15 mortgage servicers in the U.S. posted a new record in portfolio replenishment capacity last year, originating nearly 50 cents in new business for every dollar of existing loans they serviced, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance.
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Georgia’s predatory lending statute may have drawn national attention to the ramifications of state laws that exceed federal mortgage consumer protection statutes, but it has yet to slow down legislators in other jurisidictions. Even though about 25 states already have their own predatory lending laws, 40 new bills have already been introduced in legislatures around the country this year. Tennessee alone has six
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