Safeguard Properties

President Joseph R Biden, Jr. Approves Emergency Declaration for Kentucky

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FEMA Alert
December 11, 2021

FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the Commonwealth of Kentucky to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding and tornadoes beginning Dec. 10, 2021 and continuing.

The President’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance, to save lives, to protect property, public health and safety and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Breckenridge, Bullitt, Caldwell, Fulton, Graves, Grayson, Hickman, Hopkins, Lyon, Meade, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Shelby, Spencer and Warren counties.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75% federal funding to the commonwealth.

John Brogan has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Additional designations may be made if warranted by the results of damage assessments.

Affected Counties:
  • Breckenridge
  • Bullitt
  • Caldwell
  • Fulton
  • Graves
  • Grayson
  • Hickman
  • Hopkins
  • Lyon
  • Meade
  • Muhlenberg
  • Ohio
  • Shelby
  • Spencer
  • Warren

More information will be provided as it is made available.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Emergency Declaration for Kentucky

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

 

Five Trends Reshaping the US Home Mortgage Industry

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Industry Update
December 7, 2021

Source: McKinsey & Company

Consumer demand for mortgages in the United States has skyrocketed, due to a surge in home buying during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result of low interest rates that have made refinancing attractive over the past two years. Although a rise in rates would cool refinance activity, banks, nonbank lenders, and mortgage industry investors are likely to continue seeing strong demand from the purchase market. According to a recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the industry is expected to originate more than $2.5 trillion for each of the next three years, which is at least 40 percent higher than average annual originations between 2010 and 2019.

Meanwhile, the mortgage industry has been gradually adopting technology to streamline the front-to-back process of getting a mortgage, with the aim of making the consumer experience smoother and faster. Investors can facilitate further improvements at the point of origination, processing, underwriting, and loan servicing, as well as expand consumer access to home-financing and home-buying services.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands Could Soon Lose – or Sell – Their Homes as Covid Mortgage Bailouts Expire

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Industry Update
December 2, 2021

Source: CNBC

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners could soon lose or sell their homes as Covid-related mortgage bailout programs expire.

The federal government, big banks and mortgage servicers started emergency programs when the pandemic hit early last year, shutting down vast swaths of the economy. The bailouts allowed millions of homeowners to miss payments, some for up to 18 months.

“We’re in the midst of the largest transition out of forbearance we’re likely to see, with three-quarters of a million homeowners leaving plans over the past 60 days,” said Andy Walden, vice president of market research for Black Knight.

The programs were largely successful.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Knight: Number of Mortgages in Forbearance “Drops Below the Million Mark”

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Industry Update
December 3, 2021

Source: Calculated Risk

Daily tracking data through December 1 shows the number of active forbearance plan totals dropping below 1 million for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

According to our McDash Flash daily forbearance tracking dataset, the number of active forbearance plans fell by 23,000 (-2.3%) this week, led by a 14,000 (-3.9%) drop in FHA/VA loans. Both GSE (-7K/-2%) and PLS/portfolio (-2K/-.6%) plan volumes also improved.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mortgage Lending Declines at Unusually Fast Pace Across U.S. During Third Quarter of 2021

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Industry Update
December 2, 2021

Source: Cision PR Newswire

ATTOM, curator of the nation’s premier property database, today released its third-quarter 2021 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report.  The report shows that 3.59 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were originated in the third quarter of 2021 in the United States. That figure was up 3 percent from the third quarter of 2020, but down 8 percent from the second quarter of 2021 – the largest quarterly dip in over a year

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 FHA Loan Limits: Floor Rises to $420,680; Ceiling to $970,800

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Industry Update
December 1, 2021

Source: www.thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Similar to the FHFA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announces maximum loan limits each year for FHA loans.

Today, they unveiled the 2022 FHA loan limits, which like the 2022 conforming loan limits, will be significantly higher than the limits in effect this year.

This is thanks to continued home price appreciation, and the fact that the calculation of the FHA loan limits is driven by the conforming loan limit itself.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freddie Mac Addresses Cryptocurrency in the Mortgage Qualification Process

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Industry Update
December 1, 2021

Source: LexBlog

In Bulletin 2021-36 Freddie Mac addresses cryptocurrency in the mortgage qualification process. Freddie Mac indicated that it is providing guidance “due to the high level of uncertainty associated with cryptocurrency.”

Freddie Mac advises that the Seller/Servicer Guide is updated to include the following guidance:

  • Income paid to the borrower in cryptocurrency may not be used to qualify for the mortgage.
  • For income types that require evidence of sufficient remaining assets to establish likely continuance (e.g., retirement account distributions, trust income and dividend and interest income, etc.), those assets may not be in the form of cryptocurrency.
  • Cryptocurrency may not be included in the calculation of assets as a basis for repayment of obligations.
  • Monthly payments on debts secured by cryptocurrency must be included in the borrower’s debt payment-to-income ratio and are not subject to the guide provisions regarding installment debts secured by financial assets.
  • Cryptocurrency must be exchanged for U.S. dollars if it will be needed for the mortgage transaction (i.e., any funds required to be paid by the borrower and borrower reserves).

Freddie Mac notes that it “will continue to monitor cryptocurrency developments and may update these requirements as appropriate in the future.”

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mortgage Giant Fannie Mae Promotes Controller to Finance Chief

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Industry Update
December 1, 2021

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise that guarantees mortgage loans, has promoted Chryssa Halley, from controller to chief financial officer.

Ms. Halley’s appointment took effect Monday, Fannie Mae said in a press release on Wednesday. She joined the government-sponsored enterprise in 2006 and has held several senior-level roles with it since then.

Ms. Halley succeeds Celeste Brown, who left in May after about three years as Fannie Mae’s finance chief to become CFO of New York-based financial company Evercore Inc. David Benson, Fannie Mae’s president, served as interim CFO before Ms. Halley’s appointment.

“Chryssa is an inspirational leader with deep knowledge of Fannie Mae’s finance operations gained over many years,” Hugh Frater, Fannie Mae’s chief executive, said in a press release.

Fannie Mae declined to make Ms. Halley available for an interview.

Jim Holmberg succeeded Ms. Halley as controller. He joined Fannie Mae in 2009 and has served as its vice president of finance accounting.

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sky High Home Prices Push Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Back Loans of Nearly $1 Million

Posted on by Safeguard

Industry Update
November 30, 2021

Source: CNN

Home prices across the US have seen stratospheric increases within the past year as demand for homes spiked and inventory tanked.

And those higher prices have pushed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise the limits of government-backed loans to a record level for 2022, with the maximum loan limit at nearly $1 million for high-cost areas.

Third quarter home prices increased 18.5% from a year ago, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index, released Tuesday, marking the largest annual home price increase in the history of the index.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fannie Mae: Mortgage Serious Delinquency Rate Decreased in October

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Industry Update
November 30, 2021

Source: Calculated Risk

Fannie Mae reported that the Single-Family Serious Delinquency decreased to 1.46% in October, from 1.62% in September. The serious delinquency rate is down from 3.05% in October 2020.

These are mortgage loans that are “three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure”.

 

For full report, please click the source link above.