Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors. Bill Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced on July 8, 2025, that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would accept Vantagescore 4.0 credit scores for mortgage underwriting. This decision was communicated via Pulte’s social media account on X […]
Credit scores are not the issue Read More »
Douglas Elliman, the nation’s sixth-largest real estate brokerage, is the latest firm to unite home sales and financing under one roof. The company has entered into a “strategic alliance” with Associated Mortgage Bankers, Ronkonkoma, New York, to create Elliman Capital. “By bringing mortgage services in-house, we’re creating an unprecedented level of convenience and oversight to
Douglas Elliman forms mortgage venture with AMB Read More »
The share of mortgage loans with issues that could indicate fraud declined in the second quarter of 2025, although it is still above levels seen in the second half of last year, Fundingshield’s Wire Fraud Analytics report said. During the period, nearly 46.63% of transactions analyzed in an $81 billion residential, commercial and business purpose
Existing lender controls lacking to detect mortgage fraud Read More »
A little more than a month after it agreed to sell all of Title365 to Covius Services, Blend Labs is entering into “an expanded partnership” with Doma to use its artificial intelligence-powered instant decisioning technology. “This partnership with Doma reinforces our core focus: delivering innovative, software-driven solutions that create real value for our customers,” said
Blend, after Title365 sale, expands partnership with Doma Read More »
The FHFA’s nod to VantageScore 4.0 — and silence on FICO’s rival 10T model in a recent X post — has reignited a bitter fight over the future of mortgage credit scoring. A B of A Global Research report dated July 11 on the agency RMBS market pointed to the imprecise language in the post
FICO challenges FHFA’s VantageScore decision Read More »
Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler sat down with Bill Packer, chief operating officer at Longbridge Financial, to talk about the ways his company is using AI to serve reverse mortgage borrowers. Packer has worked in the consumer lending space for four decades, with deep expertise in technology and operations. This interview has been edited for
Longbridge COO Bill Packer on how technology is influencing workflows Read More »
The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization has added over 40 standardized fee names to a dictionary it created and is seeking public comment on the revisions. The 30-day public comment period on those updates runs through Aug. 7. “MISMO developed this guide to promote the uniform usage of fee names and descriptions for the purpose
MISMO adds 40 definitions of fee charges to reference guide Read More »
Title Resources Group (TRG) has named Michael Campbell as a vice president and underwriting counsel for Michigan. In this role, Campbell will support TRG’s title agents and escrow officers across Michigan and the broader Midwest. “Michael’s diverse title agency and underwriting background in high-volume and boutique shops gives him the broad experience needed to solve
Michael Campbell joins Title Resources Group as Michigan underwriting counsel Read More »
The conservator and regulator of two influential government-related mortgage investors has announced a credit score other than FICO’s “classic” metric can be used when submitting loans to them. Effective immediately, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow lenders to use VantageScore 4.0, Bill Pulte said in an X post referencing one of two advanced credit
Fannie, Freddie add VantageScore, keep tri-merge Read More »
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has opened a request for information on buy now, pay later (BNPL) lending as it seeks to understand its implications for housing affordability and stability. Comments are due by Aug. 25. These installment loans — often referred to as “phantom debt” — gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among
FHA seeks input on buy now, pay later lending Read More »