Home / Author Archives: Krista Franks Brock (page 37)

Author Archives: Krista Franks Brock

Krista Franks Brock is a professional writer and editor who has covered the mortgage banking and default servicing sectors since 2011. Previously, she served as managing editor of DS News and Southern Distinction, a regional lifestyle publication. Her work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including Consumers Digest, Dallas Style and Design, DS News and DSNews.com, MReport and theMReport.com. She holds degrees in journalism and art from the University of Georgia.

DecisionReady Offers New Vendor Management Compliance Module

DecisionReady -- a California-based provider of default servicing compliance solutions -- has just introduced a new vendor compliance management module to work with its compliance suite. DecisionReady designed the module to address the shortcomings regulators found in their 2010 Interagency Review of Foreclosure Policies and Practices. The regulators found that third-party vendors were not being properly managed.

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CA Rep. Requests Information on Fannie Mae’s Purchase from BofA

Rep. Darrell Issa of California has sent a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) expressing his concerns and requesting information about an alleged deal between Fannie Mae and Bank of America. Issa references an August 10th report detailing a deal between Fannie and the bank in which the GSE reportedly purchased the mortgage servicing rights of 400,000 troubled loans for $500 million. Issa says the transaction is ""worrisome"" and appears to have shifted risk from BofA to Fannie Mae.

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Freddie Mac Will Not Offer Investors Discounts on Bulk Sales

Freddie Mac sent a letter to investors regarding bulk sales of foreclosed homes. The GSE offers investors the opportunity to purchase properties in bulk from HomeSteps - a division of Freddie Mac that offers sales of the GSE's foreclosed properties. The GSE says it has found most investors are interested in purchasing at 40 to 60 cents on the dollar below current list price, but Freddie is not considering such significant price cuts. The GSE says it is ""extremely mindful"" of how its pricing affects the market.

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BPOs Are Becoming an Exacting Science

The housing industry relies on about 10 million broker price opinions (BPOs) each year, according to Franklin E. Rodebaugh, principal broker and president of American Wholesale Properties, Inc. BPOs are not going to go away, Rodebaugh said during a panel discussion at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo this week. He added that BPOs are ""becoming a far more exacting science than they've ever been before,"" and he believes there are a lot more changes in store for the BPO market.

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Mortgage Rates Still Falling

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage both set new record lows this week, according to Freddie Mac's survey released Thursday. Freddie Mac's chief economist believes the new lows are the result of concerns surrounding the European debt market, which has driven investors to the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds and allowed mortgage rates to ease yet again. Freddie Mac puts the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate at 4.09 percent and the 15-year rate at 3.30 percent.

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Industry Calls for Expanded Refinance Program

At a hearing before a Senate subcommittee this week, witnesses urged Congress to help more underwater homeowners refinance their loans at current, record-low interest rates. The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) allows underwater homeowners with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance their mortgages at lower interest rates. However, the program has helped fewer than 900,000 of the more than 10 million underwater homeowners in the country.

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Fannie Mae Finds Several Servicers Below Median Performance

Several servicers remain below median performance level as of the first half of the year, as ranked by Fannie Mae's Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program. Fannie Mae announced the STAR Program in February to measure servicers' success in providing sustainable solutions to distressed homeowners. The mid-year results released Wednesday by the GSE indicate that only four out of the 11 banks in Peer Group 1 are on track to receive at least a three-STAR rating at the end of the year.

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Technology May Eliminate Implementation Headaches for SPOC

While servicers attempt to develop processes to implement the single point of contact (SPOC) requirement that is part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Servicing Alignment Initiative, technology companies have developed solutions to address the new regulation. Representatives from several of these companies spoke about the issue during a panel discussion at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo. They say collaboration between industry partners is key to overcoming logistical challenges.

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Former President George W. Bush Addresses the Industry at Five Star

Former President George W. Bush addressed an audience of participants throughout the default servicing industry Tuesday morning at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo. Touching on a few challenging moments in his presidency, including the September 11 attack, Bush said, ""You have to surround yourself with people whose judgment you trust."" Bush discussed the difficult decision to administer TARP in 2008.

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Some REO Brokerages Prosper Despite Decreased Inventory

While many REO offices are having a difficult time gathering listings, some brokerages are finding ways to continue to succeed in the current market. Experts in the field shared their secrets for rising to the top with other agents and brokers at the Five Star Conference in Dallas, Texas, on Monday. They say staffing is an important issue for anyone running an REO office, as is finding innovative ways to add value for clients and working to make the exchange between asset managers and their selling agents run smoothly.

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