Mortgages

When Guaranteed Rate's Sam Sharp discovered past clients' online reviews were bringing in new mortgage customers, he started making borrower feedback a major part of his digital marketing strategy.

Prospect Mortgage, a Sherman Oaks, Calif., nonbank lender, has agreed to pay $10.1 million in borrower restitution and penalties for violating federal and state laws, California's Department of Business Oversight said Thursday.

The Federal Housing Administration's unexpected windfall is already generating industry talk about another premium cut by the agency — but FHA officials insist such discussion is premature.

Lenders are doing a better job keeping consumers informed about the loan process, according to the latest J.D. Power mortgage survey. But the actual speed of loan closings is also a key factor to borrowers' overall satisfaction.

The Federal Housing Administration reported better than expected financial results on Monday, with the ratio of reserves to guaranteed loans soaring past its minimum threshold to reach 2.07%.

FHA loosens condo owner-occupancy rules and pledges to make further changes to facilitate condo financing.

WASHINGTON — Four Federal Home Loan Banks have recruited 74 members to participate in their new Mortgage Partnership Finance jumbo loan program.

The added clarity provided by the Federal Housing Administration's revised single-family handbook comes at the expense of lender flexibility to get loans qualified, including a popular workaround for borrowers with deferred student loan debt.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is pushing back against a lawsuit from PHH Corp. that claims the agency erred in overturning an administrative law judge's recommendation to limit the amount of penalties it could face.

Fannie Mae was affected by the same derivatives accounting mismatch that led to Freddie Mac's first quarterly loss in four years. But its bulk and balance sheet provided enough cushion for the larger of the two government-sponsored enterprises to post a profit for the third quarter.

Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $81.6 million to settle a federal investigation into its alleged failure to properly notify homeowners of increases in their mortgage payments.

Nationstar will provide servicing-released option for fledging Chicago's MPF Government MPF program.

Luther Burbank Savings, in Santa Rosa, Calif., has established three home loan programs aimed at helping low- and moderate-income borrowers afford to buy homes in nine California counties.

While Texas has been among the strongest housing markets in the country over the past few years, the recent decline in oil and gas prices is affecting its housing market at a time when an overall sluggish economy can't pick up the slack.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has shifted Perry Hilzendeger to head up its mortgage servicing operations from his previous position of running its home loan default business.

Freddie Mac Chief Executive Donald Layton insisted Tuesday that the government-sponsored enterprise showed "very strong fundamentals" in the third quarter, despite reporting a $501 million loss due to an accounting mismatch with its use of derivatives.

Freddie Mac posted a third quarter loss of $501 million, its first quarterly loss in four years, but the government-sponsored enterprise will not request a draw from the U.S. Treasury.

Though the deadline for compliance is more than two years away, lenders are already warning that they do not have enough time to comply with a new rule that requires institutions to report additional data to regulators on home loans.

Bank of America has agreed to pay $335 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it misled shareholders about risky mortgages and its dependence on the electronic mortgage registry known as MERS.

The government's aggressive (and unsuccessful) prosecution of tiny Abacus Federal Savings Bank stands as one of the oddest episodes of post-crisis era.