Commerce Velocity, a member of the Fidelity National Financial family of companies, recently released its Loss Mitigation Borrower Portal. The portal supports the federal requirement instituted by regulators under the consent orders issued to servicers in April for communicating with borrowers via a single point-of-contact (SPOC). It also provides borrowers with a place to review the status of a loan, upload financial documents.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette issued criminal investigative subpoenas this week against several third-party firms that provide support to national mortgage servicers. The move is part of the Office of the Attorney General's investigation into questionable mortgage documentation filed with the state's Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis. The primary target is the firm DocX. Three other firms affiliated with DocX have also been subpoenaed.

CoreLogic, a provider of information, analytics, and business services, now helps regulated financial institutions meet the federal Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines for lending decisions via its new property condition report. The company's new product, OnSite, covers 98.7 percent of parcels in the country, contains local market conditions, and complements automated valuation model (AVM) reports.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage have joined forces to create a national alliance focused on foreclosure prevention, property disposition, homeownership promotion, and community development. The three-year initiative will address housing issues with strategies and outreach initiatives involving mayors and their constituents. With the challenges facing the nation, the parties say it is important that the private and public sectors work together on options that address cities' individual needs.

MortgageKeeper Referral Services, the developer of a national database that connects financially strapped homeowners with qualified nonprofit and government agencies for assistance, has released its May Homeowner Needs Status Report. The company says more than 40,000 homeowner assistance referrals were issued last month - a 15 percent increase over April.

Gerner & Kearns, Co., L.P.A. appointed Daniel Aaron Cox as senior associate and director of legal operations. Cox will oversee the firm's entire legal operations with a focus on the default services practice group, which will include its ""cradle to grave"" services from foreclosure through bankruptcy and REO. He will also serve on the firm's executive committee.

Foreclosures are claiming a smaller share of the Phoenix sales market. The ratio has dropped for three straight months, according to a new report from Arizona State University's business school. In May, foreclosures represented about 35 percent of existing-home transactions in the Phoenix area, down from 43 percent earlier in the year. Still, the university's real estate professor says he's doubtful foreclosures will cease to be the dominant force in the market. More than 3,500 foreclosures occurred in the Phoenix metro last month.

According to Sperlonga Data and Analytics, unpaid homeowners association (HOA) fees are a clear sign of potential mortgage default. Sperlonga has launched a new service, Loss Mitigation Association Surveillance (LMAS), which is designed to help mortgage servicers reduce risk after a loan modification by alerting lenders when a borrower is falling behind on HOA fees, which are historically difficult to track. With the new service, lenders can identify potential defaults or troubled modifications months before the borrower misses a mortgage payment.

CitiMortgage and the North Texas Housing Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving and increasing affordable, working class housing in North Texas, are hosting a free homeowner assistance event in Dallas for distressed homeowners Tuesday. Part of the Citi Road to Recovery Homeowner Assistance series, the event is open to all homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments.

Ruling in favor of Avelo Mortgage, an appellate court in California declared Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) a proper beneficiary on the deed of trust. Citing an earlier decision involving Countrywide, Judge David Milton ruled that MERS has the authority under California law to assign a deed of trust, and that borrower agreements make it clear MERS, as nominee of the lender, has the right to exercise any interest on the lender's behalf, including the right to foreclose and sell the property.