Chase Home Lending, the consumer and commercial banking arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., has raised its closing guarantee from $5,000 to $20,000 until July 27, 2024, the bank announced on Thursday. The guarantee means that the bank promises an on-time closing on or before the contract closing date, or i

Mortgage advisory firm Stratmor Group has merged with Teraverde, a mortgage advisory firm and technology solutions provider, in a deal that the companies say will allow them to expand the markets they serve and the depth of services provided. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.Both firms will

The East Coast and Midwest stand out as prime locations for veterans and current military service members, according to the 2024 Best Cities for Veterans to Live list compiled by Veterans United Home Loans. Tampa emerged as the top metro area for veterans. It was followed by Rochester, Minnesota; Wi

Financial planners are an important referral source for reverse mortgage professionals, and Finance of America (FOA) vice president of retirement strategies Steve Resch has been at the head of the company’s conversations with planners to help them understand how much utility a reverse mortgage could

The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) this week announced that Jonathan Scarpati, senior vice president of wholesale production at Finance of America (FOA), has joined its board of directors for the remainder of the 2024 term.Scarpati is a 20-year reverse mortgage industry vetera

Keller Williams’ International Association Leadership Council (IALC) has rescinded the recent changes to its profit-sharing program, according to an announcement on Friday.The changes were first announced in August 2023 during KW’s Mega Agent Camp event. Under the changes, the company cut profit-sha

About two months after resigning as the 18th secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Marcia Fudge has joined law firm Taft as a partner and chair of public policy, the company announced this week. Fudge will “dedicate a portion of her time to the firm’s ongoing effor

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) this week published a mortgagee letter (ML) amending a 2022 requirement for mortgage lenders, and anyone seeking to do business with FHA, to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in order to be eligible for such business.In ML 2024-09, the agency’s UEI poli

Roofstock, a real estate services and investment platform, is merging with housing operator Mynd, the companies announced on Thursday. Both firms guide real estate investors in buying, selling and managing single-family rental (SFR) homes across the country. The unified platform will offer real esta

At “The Gathering” this year, every room seemed to share a certain buzz. Conversations across panels, roundtables, announcements, and everywhere in between seemed to trend toward the same general topic: How do we make the most of a market that continues to offer as many challenges as it does chances

From 2010 to 2024, the reverse mortgage industry sought to allow remote reverse mortgage counseling in the state of Massachusetts, citing an insufficient number of actual counselors and logistical challenges for senior clients. But as time dragged on and state lawmakers seemed unwilling to seriously

Many prospective U.S. homebuyers fear missing out on the perks of owning a home. According to the newest Bank of America Homebuyer Insights Report, 72% of respondents worry about potential rent hikes impacting their finances. The report also reveals growing uncertainty about whether to rent or buy,

Older voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania are poised to make their presence — and preferences — felt in the upcoming fall elections that will determine control of the White House, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Chief on their minds are issues that include Social

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Wednesday announced that the Biden administration has approved a record $1.1 billion in funding for the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program, and an additional $75 million funding opportunity for the Indian Community Development Bloc

The Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) on Wednesday released a plan that it says would “modernize” Ginnie Mae, the government-owned company that manages the securitization of government-sponsored loans.The CHLA argues that Ginnie Mae has not been given sufficient budget authority by the congre

Mortgage rates have been slowly dropping recently, which has caught some people off guard. With inflation data that is still higher than the Federal Reserve‘s target, the recent decrease has left many intrigued. Was it the recent inflation reports or the last batch of labor data that played a signif

Mortgage demand ticked up last week as interest rates declined for a second week in a row. Applications increased by 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending May 10, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey. “Treasury yields continue

VantageScore has released a pilot of its latest credit-scoring model, VantageScore 4 Plus, for banks, fintechs and government lenders. The new model combines alternate open banking data with traditional credit data, which it claims gives lenders a “substantial predictive lift of up to 10% compared t

Government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac has put its finger on the scale of an emerging loan market that has been the domain of the private-label securities market, which has nurtured its reemergence in recent years.Last month, Freddie Mac announced a plan to begin purchasing single-family

This is an excerpt of a HousingWire Research report titled: What Everyone Needs to Know about Mortgage Rate Lock-in, by Altos President Mike Simonsen.In the 24 months beginning March 2022, the U.S. housing market saw dramatic changes in affordability as mortgage rates skyrocketed 500 basis points. A