News

Overall, 53.5 percent of investors surveyed said they preferred flipping, while 44.8 percent said they intended to rent the houses they purchased. A larger portion of real estate investors (55 percent) and investors working on behalf of another investor (66.3 percent) said they intended to flip, while a majority of investors making a one-time purchase (66.9 percent) said they intended to rent.

In the ESR's April 2015 Economic Outlook released Monday, the projection for economic growth in 2015 held steady at 2.8 percent despite a downward adjustment for Q1 growth from the prior forecast. However, Fannie Mae is expecting some volatility in financial markets due to the Federal Reserve's expected interest rate increase later in the year.

The Detroit-based lender claims the government has enjoyed “extraordinary profitability for FHA's insurance program” through its efforts, saying the company’s participation in FHA's program will proved the government more than $5.7 billion in net profits “from the insurance premiums collected above and beyond claims made from over $40 billion in FHA home loan volume closed by Quicken Loans during the 2007 to 2013 timeframe.”

When considering adjustments to G-fees for certain categories of loans, FHFA took into account the decision (also announced Friday) to enhance the eligibility standards for mortgage insurance companies. Overall, the FHFA said, the modest changes being made to the upfront G-fees are revenue neutral and will mean little or no change for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Judge Richard Seeborg, in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, ruled that Wells Fargo had breached the terms of the settlement by using "evolving and perhaps ill-defined standards" when determining borrowers' eligibility for a loan modification, according to one report. At the same time, however, Seeborg told both sides they had had "almost no idea" what they agreed to in the settlement.

Bank of America originated $17 billion worth of first-lien residential mortgage loans and home equity loans in Q1, which helped the bank's net income rise to $3.4 billion for Q1. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank also reported a 45 percent year-over-year decline in the number of first mortgage loans serviced by its Legacy Assets unit that were 60 or more days delinquent, down to 153,000.

The Appeals Court of Massachusetts became the latest court to uphold the validity of the assignment of a mortgage by Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) on Friday, according to an announcement from MERSCORP Holdings, parent company of MERS.

Housing counselors‒‒which can be the lenders themselves‒‒can provide advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, and credit issues at little or no cost to consumers. The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 included a requirement that mortgage lenders provide applicants with a list of local housing counselors, which consumers are to receive shortly after they apply for a mortgage.

California-based firms The Life Planning Companies and National Real Estate Solutions (NRES) have teamed with Henderson, Nevada-based RIO Genesis to take advantage of RIO's breakthrough technology platform, national real estate broker organization (the NRBA), and numerous RIO Genesis users, real estate brokers, and agents, according to an announcement from RIO Genesis CEO Michael Krein.

Matthews, North Carolina-based default servicing and real estate closing law firm Brady & Kosofsky, P.A., announced that the firm has successfully completed a Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) Type 1 certification under AT Section 101.