Aug 31, 2009

Answers for homeowners with TBW

If your loan has been with Taylor Bean & Whitaker, there is no need to panic as Freddie Mac has arranged for several servicing companies to begin working directly with such homeowners. Responsibility for servicing Freddie Mac mortgages that were transferred from TBW, has been given to Cenlar FSB, Saxon Mortgage Services and Ocwen Loan Servicing. These servicing companies will get in touch with you with either with a welcome phone call or welcome letter in which case it will include the contact information for your new Freddie Mac servicer and the address where you should begin sending your payments and any required documentation.

Home owners with TBW loans need not worry about the mortgage payments made to TBW.You should not be assessed a late fee and your credit report should not be impacted as a result of the transition. In the unlikely event your payment was not properly applied to your mortgage balance during the transition or you discover an error with your payment history, immediately contact your new Freddie Mac Servicer.They will resolve any issues that occured during the transition period, including waiving late charges when applicable and making appropriate adjustments to payment and credit records.

If you loan was in default, and you were being considered for a loan modification under the Making Home Affordable plan,then you should work directly with your new mortgage servicer to find options that's best for you. Additionally, if you received a letter from Home Retention Services regarding a loan modification of your TBW-serviced mortgage, please continue working directly with them on this process.For further informnation, check these websites out:

http://www.cenlar.com/home.html
https://www.saxononline.com/common/home/
https://www.ocwencustomers.com/home.cfm

PrivoCorp (http://www.privocorp.com) processes the loans for the brokers and is in no way involved with origination of these loans.


Aug 25, 2009

TBW files for bankruptcy, everyone affected

Florida based TBW Mortgage Corp, the 12th largest U.S. mortgage lender, filed for protection from creditors on Monday with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Jacksonville, FL. Shortly after FHA had suspended Taylor, Bean & Whitaker for irregularities, Freddie Mac (FRE.P) and the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) suspended Taylor Bean as an issuer of mortgage securities.

TBW is in talks with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to let it process payments for its mortgage borrowers.

We would like to know if anybody has been affected by this (delayed release of funds) ? If so, please let us know, so that we can point you to a broker/lender who can help you.

PrivoCorp (http://www.privocorp.com) processes the loans for the brokers and is in no way involved with origination of these loans.

Aug 24, 2009

Existing home sales surge

Price drop and the tax credit for home buyers are said to be the reason for the surge. According to the National Association of Realtors that home sales rose 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million in July, from a pace of 4.89 million in June. It was the fourth-straight monthly increase and the highest level of sales since August 2007. For further details and the complete story check USAToday.


PrivoCorp (http://www.privocorp.com) processes the loans for the brokers and is not involved with the actual origination of these loans.

Rise in Foreclosures in Texas

Texans continue to make late mortgage payments due to which more than 1 in 10 mortgages are late or in foreclosure. In Texas, most of the loans facing foreclosure are subprime mortgages. In the second quarter, 8.79% of residential mortgages in the state had delinquent payments and 1.84 % went into foreclosure, which both figures exceeded the previous quarter.

For more information on this a good read is the article here

Homeowners facing situations like this should consult their broker or the financial planner to get help from some of the programs that the Bush and now Obama adminisitration are promoting for them.

PrivoCorp (http://www.privocorp.com) processes the loans for the brokers and is in no way involved with loan modifications or origination of these loans.


Aug 23, 2009

Mortgage Rates Lowest Since Late May

According to an article in the Memphis Daily quoting Freddie Mac sources, the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.12 percent, down from 5.29 percent last week. At this time last year, the average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 6.47 percent. For more information visit the Memphis Daily.


The hope in the mortgage banking industry would be that these low rates spur refinance activity (and possibly purchases), but the overall unemployment and real estate prices are the ones that will drive economic growth and will be real proof of the country coming out of the recession.

PrivoCorp (http://www.privocorp.com/) is one of the fastest processors of conventional and FHA mortgages in the country.

PrivoCorp on FaceBook

Become a fan of PrivoCorp on Facebook and join discussions on various mortgage banking related topics on the leading social networking website - Facebook.

PrivoCorp is the fastest processor of FHA and conventional loans and a thought leader in the mortgage industry providing observations and feedback on the issues and challenges facing the industry as a whole.

Aug 22, 2009

Update to Red Flag Alert

Here are a few things that we compiled on the new legislation. The new “Red Flags” requirements work in conjunction with the Safeguards Rules (GLBA):
1) Designate a compliance Officer / Coordinator;
2) Perform a Risk Assessment;
3) Draft and Communicate Policy and Procedures;
4) Conduct Employee Training;
5) Undertake Periodic Audits; and
6) Obtain Board Approval and Complete an Annual Report.

Aug 12, 2009

Red Flag Alert - Effective Nov 1st 2009

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the new ‘Red Flag’ Requirements for Financial Institutions and Creditors Will Help Fight Identity Theft. Identity thieves use people’s personally identifying information to open new accounts and misuse existing accounts, creating havoc for consumers and businesses. Financial institutions and creditors soon will be required to implement a program to detect, prevent, and mitigate instances of identity theft.

Mortgage brokers and lenders fall under the CREDITOR and COVERED ACCOUNTS category. Under the Red Flags Rules, financial institutions and creditors must develop a written program that identifies and detects the relevant warning signs – or “red flags” – of identity theft. These may include, for example, unusual account activity, fraud alerts on a consumer report, or attempted use of suspicious account application documents. The program must also describe appropriate responses that would prevent and mitigate the crime and detail a plan to update the program. The program must be managed by the Board of Directors or senior employees of the financial institution or creditor, include appropriate staff training, and provide for oversight of any service providers.

All mortgage brokers need to be prepared for the Red Flag Alert which becomes effective Nov 1st, 2009. For further information visit the FTC website.

If you have any comments please post them below or visit PrivoCorp website (the mortgage outsourcing destination) at http://www.privocorp.com/ and submit a request on how you can be compliant with these guidelines.

Aug 9, 2009

MBA: Mortgage applications rise as interest rates fall

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, a decrease in interest rates boosted mortgage applications during the week ended July 31.

<< Here is some information from the Nashville Business Journal >>

With the average 30-year fixed rate falling to 5.17 percent, the number of total loan applications rose 4.4 percent over the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The number of people refinancing grew by 7.2 percent over the previous week, and is up 35 percent above its recent low at the end of June.

Overall, the number of people refinancing loans made up 54.2 percent of total mortgage applications, up from 52.6 in the previous week. However, the percentage of adjustable-rate loans refinanced dipped to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent of the total activity.

The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.6 percent from 4.75 percent, with points decreasing to 1 from 1.14.

The average interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.67 percent from 6.66 percent, with points remaining unchanged, at 0.09.

>>

Its been a while since PrivoCorp has worked on ARMs for customers. It is not difficult to understand that given the rates mentioned above. PrivoCorp is one of the fastest processors of Conventional and FHA mortgages in the country.

Aug 5, 2009

Flash: FHA suspends TBW

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Housing Administration suspended Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. from making loans insured by the federal agency, and raised questions about the company's business practices and financial disclosures.
Also, BoA just released that they were @ 5 days on FHA refis and 3 days on FHA purchases. I guess it would not be too difficult to see where all the TBW loans are going to go!
We can only hope that TBW is able to extricate itself from this situation and continue to lend, or else the consequences may be far reaching as TBW was the 12th largest FHA lender in Q1 and Q2 of 2009.

Acopia suspends TX Cash out

Citing "adverse market conditions" Acopia has decided to immediately suspend its TX cash out loans. Anyone wanting to get their TX cash outs funded please contact one of the business development managers at PrivoCorp (http://www.privocorp.com/) who can help you get in touch with lenders that continue to fund cash outs in the state of Texas.

Farm Real-Estate Values Post Rare Decline

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, quoting government statistics, farm real-estate values fell for the first time in more than 20 years. The U.S. Agriculture Department said in its annual report that the value of all land and buildings on U.S. farms averaged $2,100 an acre Jan. 1, down 3.2% from last year. The decline in farm real-estate values was the first since 1987, the agency said.
For the details click here.


While the exact definition of farm real estate was not available in the article, it will be interesting to note the impact on major USDA lenders - like Chase - who has a significant USDA offering. Mortgage banking firms and brokers outside the MSAs are most likely to face the consequences of this decline - and it might result in lower eligibilities and possibly the creation of "declining markets" for farm areas as well.

Those with experience on USDA backed loans and/or facing the impact of the farm real estate declines can post their comments here.