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2 weeks ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann |Chris Clow
Laurel Davis, who served as a senior vice president and head of the company’s mission and impact, was reportedly included in the cuts, alongside the rest of the ESG team’s staff, the sources said. One source said the staffers were officially on administrative leave. HousingWire reached out to representatives at Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), but did not receive an immediate reply.
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3 weeks ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
“This company was built for these times — with an incredibly strong capital base, a genuine care culture, and forward thinking creativity supported by proprietary innovations,” Gillespie said in a prepared statement.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
First American Financial Corporation has cut ties with CEO Ken DeGiorgio weeks after he was arrested for allegedly choking a man on the dance floor of a cruise ship. In a statement Tuesday, the title giant said it had appointed Mark Seaton to lead the company. In addition, Treasurer Matt Wajner was promoted to CFO of First American and Dennis Gilmore, the chairman of the board, was named executive chair.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
It goes without saying that I love all of my children (companies that I cover) equally. But give me a couple Manhattans on a Friday night and I might tell you, Yes, reader, I do have a couple favorites. Zillow is one of my favorites. And here’s why — it is the only company in the housing space that is a verb. I’m going to Zillow that house is something you actually hear out in the wild.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
Goertzen, the founder of Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME), said in a statement that for many first-generation Americans, homeownership represents more than just buying a house. “It’s a symbol of financial stability, family security, and generational progress,” said Goertzen. “I joined Empower Mortgage because its mission is deeply personal to me.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
Jason Bressler, UWM’s chief technology officer, said the wholesaler is one of the first companies to leverage Google’s Gemini Flash 1.5 model to enhance underwriting automation. Underwriters at UWM have already increasing their capacity from underwriting six loans a day to 14 (the industry average is closer to 3 files per day). Bressler said UWM has been working with Google Cloud since it built out its Bolt underwriting platform about four years ago.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
A source called with what sounded like big news. One of the bigger players in the wholesale space was soon going to require that all broker LOs be paid as W2s. Doing so would close what he described as the “1099 loophole.”It turned out not to be true (nothing has changed re the tax status of broker LOs, the particular lender said), and I had to hang up because my three-year-old was screaming, and chicken dinner was burning, and well, you know.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | Jonathan Delozier |James Kleimann
According to the FBI, the altercation started after DeGiorgio’s wife approached a man dancing barefoot at a cruise ship bar and requested that he put shoes on. The man allegedly responded with a “crude remark” and was seen on security footage giving her the middle finger. Shortly after, DeGiorgio allegedly grabbed him by the neck and began choking him on the dance floor. The victim told authorities DeGiorgio threatened to kill him, a claim reportedly corroborated by surveillance video.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann
“It’s been three years, April Fool’s [was] yesterday and they did not change it,” Ishbia said. “I’m changing them at UWM for everyone. So investment properties, second homes, we’re going to do every one of these loans. I’m not letting any banks or credit unions beat you out on these loans anymore. We’re going to eat the difference on these.
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1 month ago | 
housingwire.com | James Kleimann |Sarah Wolak
Although UWM’s move to cancel its contract with Mr. Cooper was widely expected, it’s unclear how other lenders that have servicing contracts with Mr. Cooper will respond to the $9.4 billion deal. Of Mr. Cooper’s $1.6 trillion servicing book as of Dec. 31, 2024, 53% of it was subservicing performed on behalf of other lenders. Roughly 47% of the portfolio contained owned mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) by the Dallas-based company.
