(possible danger) The Twitter trap for mortgage finance firms - by JACOB GAFFNEY - hattip Jacob - In the upcoming October issue of HousingWire magazine, our tech guy Rick Grant gets deep into the usefulness of social media in the mortgage space.  It's a must read for those who feel they aren't capitalizing on the 101 ways to Facebook your business into success. ... But check out a recent warning from Washington advisory firm Patton Boggs:  "It is critical that mortgage lending companies, in particular, proceed with caution," according to a weekly alert from the law firm. "Social media is widely considered a form of advertising, triggering various state and federal disclosure requirements." ... - HousingWire
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Revisiting option ARM data – Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan still have over $160 billion in option ARM loans outstanding. Over 250,000 option ARMs in California still active. - Dr. Housing Bubble

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(has letter) Frank, Grayson Grill Fannie on "Foreclosure Mills" - By Andy Kroll-  Three House Democrats, including Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the chair of the powerful financial services committee, took government housing corporation Fannie Mae to task on Friday. In a sternly worded letter, the three Dems grilled the company on its use of powerful law firms—some of which have been accused of breaking the law—to handle foreclosures. The letter, co-signed by Frank, Reps. Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) and Corinne Brown (D-Fl.) and addressed to Fannie CEO Michael Williams, cites the criticism and investigations of these firms, often called "foreclosure mills," and charges that "Fannie Mae seems to specifically delegate its foreclosure avoidance obligations out to lawyers who specialize in kicking people out of their homes." - Mother Jones

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Plan to extend Fannie, Freddie home loan limits - By Corbett B. Daly - Reuters
* Lawmakers poised to attach extension to spending bill
* Absent action, limits revert to lower levels at year end
* Housing prices could fall if limits revert to old levels

Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio shrank in August - Freddie Mac said on Friday that its mortgage portfolio shrank in August as did its total debt outstanding, while delinquency rates on loans it guarantees were mixed.  The retained mortgage investment portfolio declined by about $10.3 billion, or by an annual 17 percent rate, to $715.7 billion. This downsizing has occurred in all but two months of this year.  The company's mortgage asset holdings were $755.3 billion at the year-end and $779.4 billion in August 2009 – Reuters

Adventures with otiose trustees, RMBS edition - Felix Salmon - Carrick Mollenkamp writes today about Talcott Franklin, a lawyer in Dallas who has taken it upon himself to wage war against trustees — those impossible-to-find people buried deep within big banks who technically work on behalf of bondholders but who in practice do absolutely nothing. ... – Reuters 

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22% of private mortgage mods redefault - By Tami Luhby - ... Nearly 11% of mortgages modified under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, have fallen two months behind in payments, according to a banking regulators' report issued Friday. By contrast, just more than 22% of non-HAMP adjustments redefaulted. ... - more - CNNMoney.com
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'Second Look': First Aid for Borrowers - By RUTH SIMON - ... have launched what industry officials call "second look" programs to review rejected loan applications.  ... The moves are a throwback to traditional roll-up-the-sleeves loan underwriting, emphasizing a potential borrower's track record and relationship with a bank over credit scores and other data that powered the industry's loan machine when credit was fast and cheap.  "I don't think of it as being looser. I think of it as making good judgments," says Stephen D. Steinour, chairman, president and chief executive of Huntington Bancshares Inc - WSJ Running A Business
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(about land prices) Why a Housing Bubble? Because Houses Are Attached to the Ground - Karl Smith, Modeled Behavior - ... There are lots of explanations for why we had a housing bubble, but I suggest that there was nothing unusual about the price of housing. Construction costs went up a bit during the boom. What really soared in price was the land the housing was sitting on. ... - Seeking Alpha

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(on restoring securitization ) HOW PRESIDENT OBAMA CAN HELP HOUSING -- RIGHT NOW! - Jeff Miller - A Dash of Insight