First American Financial warns clients to watch out for fake emails

Two days after being hit by a cyberattack, the title insurance giant says it’s still trying to restore operations and warns clients that it’s taken its email system offline. Continue reading

Loan subservicer Dovenmuehle Mortgage laying off 212 workers

Illinois-based Dovenmuehle Mortgage, which collects monthly payments from homeowners in all 50 states on behalf of lenders and investors, says it’s cutting HQ staff but not closing down. Continue reading

Developer accused of marketing in Spanish, closing in English

Colony Ridge, the developer of more than 40,000 lots northeast of Houston, says its clients have no opportunity to get a loan from anyone else and dismisses federal lawsuit as baseless. Continue reading

Title insurer First American Financial is hackers’ latest target

The nation’s second biggest title insurer issues terse statement saying it’s taken some systems offline. A ransomware group known as Blackcat, ALPHV or Noberus has infiltrated the computer networks of more than 1,000 victims. Continue reading

Ocrolus grows clientele with new capabilities and document types

AI document automation platform signs 100 new customers in 2023 and now supports more than 1,150 types of documents to serve a growing number of use cases, including mortgage. Continue reading

Lower mortgage rates failed to spur homebuyers into action last week

Demand for purchase loans has picked up in five of the past seven weeks as mortgage rates continue a dramatic retreat from October highs on expectations of Fed rate cuts. Continue reading

How was your year? Take the Inman Intel Index survey: December 2023

The Inman Intel Index goes beyond sentiment and trends by tapping into the real estate industry’s most engaged community. Add your voice to the industry’s most ambitious monthly survey. Continue reading

Personal info of nearly 15M people exposed in Mr. Cooper data breach

Personal information in exposed files included names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers, Mr. Cooper said. Continue reading

Flyhomes announces 3rd round of layoffs since 2022

Seattle-based brokerage and mortgage lender Flyhomes announced another round of layoffs on Friday. The company had layoffs in July and November 2022, with one round impacting 20 percent of its workforce. Continue reading

Fannie Mae, MBA economists still expect mild 2024 recession

The good news for real estate pros is that closely watched forecasts agree home sales will bottom in Q4 2023, and mortgage rates are looking ready to come down significantly next year. Continue reading