Tag Archives: Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae announced Wednesday that it is opening an extension of its Los Angeles Mortgage Help Center. The Los Angeles Mortgage Help Center serves the Inland Empire region as part of the GSE's nationwide effort to educate families about their options and tools for avoiding foreclosure.

A weakened second quarter may indicate a slowdown in economic activity for the rest of the year, Fannie Mae reported Monday. The GSE's Economic & Strategic Research Group revealed that it may have been too optimistic in its original 2012 GDP growth projection of 2.2 percent, revising its growth rate estimate to 2.0 percent. The group attributed the waning economic growth to drops in consumer confidence and employment opportunities.

Fannie Mae is now offering a program to help prevent foreclosures by enabling better relationships between servicers and homeowners, the GSE announced Monday. The program, dubbed Know Your Options Customer Care, is a customer engagement strategy and training program for servicers. Fannie Mae will conduct training sessions for servicer call center employees, provide scripting for homeowner interaction, and help implement ongoing quality control measures.

As of Wednesday, Fannie Mae has blanket delegation of authority on behalf of all servicers from CMG Mortgage Insurance Company.

Downturns in economic confidence hasn't shaken consumers' optimism in the housing market, Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey for June showed. According to the survey, the average home price expectation rose to 2 percent in June, up 0.6 percent from May and the highest recorded value since the survey began two years ago. In addition, 35 percent of respondents expect that home prices will go up in the next year, the highest level recorded since the survey's inception.

In a report released Thursday, Wells Fargo's Economics Group cautioned that although the housing recovery is picking up steam, the good news needs to be placed in the larger context of a weakened market. The Housing Data Wrap-Up for June 2012 shows that even with the overall economy slowing, the recovery in the housing market seems to be picking up momentum. A mild winter boosted construction in the Northeast and Midwest during what is traditionally a slow season, giving builders more inventory to sell in the spring.

Lawmakers released a damning report Thursday that found Countrywide Mortgage deployed 17,979 loans to peddle influence with elected officials, stall GSE reform, and solicit exclusive access for Fannie Mae and the ultimately doomed mortgage unit over the course of more than a decade. The 136-page report ties off an investigation into the so-called ""Friends of Angelo"" circle that in some cases allegedly supplied mortgages free of upfront fees, origination points, and default penalties to influential insiders and power-brokers.

The winning bidders for the REO-to-rental pilot initiative have been selected and the deals are expected to close in the early third quarter, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday. The pilot program was first launched in February in select markets where inventory is high and rentals are in demand. Investors interested in bidding for properties were asked to submit an application to qualify and were evaluated based on factors including financial ability, asset management experience, property management expertise, and familiarity with select locations. There were about 2,500 single-family Fannie Mae owned REOs up for sale through the program.

The American Securitization Forum (ASF) released on Monday a white paper regarding FHFA's proposed single securitization platform, revealing that while originators and investors disagree on how to implement it, they concur that a single agency would be beneficial. The consensus among ASF members was that in order for the GSEs' securities to be exchangeable, standardization would have to occur in four key areas: Loan delivery and pooling requirements; remittance requirements; underwriting guidelines and refinance programs; and servicing standards and loan repurchase policies.

With high foreclosure rates still presenting a major hurdle to housing and economic recovery, GAO conducted a study to evaluate and find opportunities to enhance foreclosure mitigation efforts. The report asserts that government agencies participating in foreclosure mitigation programs need improve their existing strategies to help borrowers. The report specifically addressed loans modified by the Treasury (through HAMP), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), FHA, and the GSEs.