National Mortgage News - June 2019

Appraisals are viewed as a choke point in the mortgage process. As the ranks of appraisers dwindle and technology advances, a new, AI-driven approach may not be far off.

Two nonprofits threatened by the effort say the Department of Housing and Urban Development tried to avoid scrutiny last month when it announced the new policy outside the formal rulemaking process.

Fannie Mae is considering sharing more risk with the private sector to reduce future strain on its earnings from the implementation of the Current Expected Credit Loss accounting standard next year.

Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, have revived legislation that would prohibit Congress from using certain fees collected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offset unrelated government spending.

Freddie Mac is now offering to buy a new form of manufactured housing loan with terms similar to that of conventional mortgages from all eligible lenders, following a test run last year.

Housing advocates and Democratic lawmakers want to create more protections for tenants of rent-controlled apartments, but they are facing stiff opposition from property owners and the banks that lend to them.

The potential for longer homeowner recovery times from hurricanes could hurt mortgage companies that need to advance funds to investors from missed payments.

Provenance Blockchain, recently spun off from Mike Cagney's Figure Technologies, says it can help lenders trim 70% of mortgage settlement expenses through speedier processing and paperwork reduction.

The mortgage industry identified two technology initiatives it claims have the greatest potential to improve processes and be the most broadly adopted over the next two years, according to Fannie Mae.

Intercontinental Exchange's proposed acquisition of Simplifile will enhance its MERS unit's growing presence in handling electronic notes.

The long-awaited proposal includes safe harbors to protect collectors from getting sued, but would restrict phone collection attempts and allow borrowers to opt out of receiving other communications.

The industry welcomed a proposed overhaul of how the government identifies False Claims Act violations, but some say it remains to be seen if the changes are enough to satisfy companies that had bolted.

The gap in home price perception between appraisers and property owners widened in April, reaching its greatest spike in four years, according to Quicken Loans. At the same time, home values continued climbing.

Recapitalizing the GSEs by cutting off returns to the government would essentially be buying the GSEs from the taxpayers with money that belongs to the taxpayers.

A GSE exemption in the bureau’s “qualified mortgage” rule is set to sunset in 2021, and regulators should not try to extend it as some experts have suggested.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending June 7.