Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a Request for Input (RFI) Thursday for problems qualified Limited English Proficiency (LEP) borrowers face during the mortgage lifecycle. Per FHFA’s 2017 Scorecard for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Common Securitization Solutions, the GSEs must identify major challenges for LEP borrowers in accessing mortgage credit, analyzing potential solutions, and developing a multiyear plan appropriate for the Enterprises to support improved access. By better understanding the experience of LEP borrowers and those that serve them, the FHFA can successfully expand their statutory mandate.

After undergoing an extensive testing process, a mortgage document preparation vendor announced its Uniform Closing Dataset XML file has been certified by the GSEs. This new way of submitting documents will be required by Fannie and Freddie starting in the fall for all lenders selling to them. The company trusts this will bring consistency, transparency and clarity to the mortgage industry.

The status quo for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be changing according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. He and FHFA Director Melvin Watt separately addressed the state of the GSEs Thursday. Watt explained that reforms during conservatorship need to be kept in mind when addressing housing finance reform.

Although the industry has been slow to adopt, about three in five mortgage lenders agree that their firm is making the best use of data for their business. However, most lenders call themselves “technology followers,” not early adopters, and less than half stated that the pace of technological innovation in the industry has been too slow. Mortgage firms are starting to adopt new technologies like Application Programming Interfaces (API) in order to reduce errors and costs and speed up transactions.

On Tuesday, Fannie Mae will release its May 2017 Economic and Housing Outlook report. The Outlook is a forecast of economic trends in the housing and mortgage-finance markets, analyzing current and historical data. The previous Outlook from April 2017 saw weak overall economic patterns, while housing activity stayed relatively strong, which Fannie Mae tied to warmer weather.

According to a new report, serious delinquencies, short sales, deeds-in-lieu, third-party sales, and foreclosure sales were all down for the month. Earlier-stage delinquencies were up in February, however, with loans 30 to 59 days delinquent rising from 377,000 to 404,000 for the month. Of February loan modifications, 19 percent had principal forbearance, while extend-term modifications accounted for 44 percent—something the report attributes to ever-climbing housing prices.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now enjoy the nine standard exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act, thanks to a recent amendment to HR 1694. According to the amendment's sponsor, it will help ensure privacy and transparency at the entities. Passed in April, HR 1694 requires the GSEs to adhere to the FOIA for the first time since entering conservatorship.

Factual Data, a Loveland, Colorado-based company providing mortgage credit and verification services to mortgage lenders, announced this week 4506-T IRS tax transcript verification services through Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter, part of the GSE’s Day 1 Certainty program.

CBCInnovis, a Columbus, Ohio-based mortgage credit and data validation services provider, announced this week it is now an “authorized report supplier” for Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty program.

DataVerify, a risk mitigation, data verification, and decision management provider for the mortgage industry, announced this week it is now an “authorized report supplier” for Fannie Mae’s Day 1 Certainty program, which exempts lenders from representations and warranties and helps expedite the lending process.