Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Customer satisfaction with mortgage loan originators reached a seven-year high this year with Quicken Loans earning the highest ranking for the fourth year in a row, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Five originators earned scores above the industry average. Topping the list was Quicken Loans with a score of 841 out of 1000. The remaining four lenders to outrank the industry average are BB&T (798), U.S. Bank (783), PNC Mortgage (778), and Chase (773).

In Connecticut, Total Mortgage Services, LLC announced the launch of its end-to-end mortgage processing platform: Total Mortgage Processing.

Steady gains in home prices and rising mortgage rates across the United States contributed to weakening housing affordability in the year's third quarter, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Thursday. According to the association's Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), 64.5 percent of new and existing homes from the start of July through the end of September were considered affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. That share is down from 69.3 percent in the second quarter.

With the implementation date for the ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage (QM) guidelines creeping ever close, Fitch Ratings expects it will have to adapt its ratings process to work them in.

The third-quarter average is down 2.74 percent from the previous quarter, according to LendingTree, which suggested in a press release that the drop is due to a slight loosening of standards by lenders across the nation. The lowest average down payment percentage in the third quarter took place in Nebraska, where down payments averaged 12.5 percent of loan values. South Dakota (12.8 percent), Arkansas (12.9 percent), and Alabama (12.9 percent), followed, all with averages under 13 percent for the quarter.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the average interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) climbing to 4.35 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending November 14.

Carrington Property Services announced it is taking over property management responsibilities on rental properties owned by capital management firm Gorelick Brothers Capital.

Application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders across the country suggests a climb in new home sales throughout the month of October.

Freddie Mac announced Tuesday that it has obtained an insurance policy intended to attract new sources of private capital from non-mortgage guaranty insurers and reinsurers.

In an effort to offer further support to the mortgage brokerage and correspondent lending communities, Texas-based 360 Mortgage Group announced the launch of a new aggressive pricing model on all currently offered mortgage products.