Negative equity in eight counties in New York and California has risen significantly since 2005 according to HomeValueForcast.com’s July Lessons from Data. The counties analyzed were Suffolk, Nassau, Ulster and Westchester in New York; and, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Joaquin in California. According to the report, the authors concluded that negative equity was below 5 percent for all eight counties in 2005 but then began to rise rapidly, especially in the four California counties.

Florida-based InCharge Debt Solutions announced Tuesday a partnership with Freddie Mac to create InChargeDebt Solutions/Freddie Mac Borrower Help Network which will provide educational and informational assistance to struggling homeowners with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages.

NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartered nonprofit corporation, launched Thursday the NeighborWorks Alliance of Wisconsin, an agreement between six regional housing and community development organizations ""dedicated to improving housing opportunities and building strong communities for all Wisconsin residents.""

MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced Thursday that a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the August 31, 2011, dismissal of a plaintiffs' wrongful foreclosure complaint against Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.

Business Solutions, an affiliate of the American Bankers Association, and Freddie Mac announced in a release Wednesday the extension of their 10-year old alliance helping community banks compete in the purchase money mortgage market and support the nation's housing recovery.

Kazi Foods of Hawaii, franchisee of the majority of the Burger King and KFC Hawaii restaurants in Hawaii, announced Monday a partnership with HomeStreet Bank, one of the oldest community banks headquartered in Washington and the Hawai'i HomeOwnership Center, to offer the Hometown Home Loan Program to its employees.

A surge in increased calls to the Homeowners HOPE Hotline, which helps distressed homeowners navigate financial challenges, could signal a possible new wave of foreclosures according to a report released by the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF). The independent nonprofit reported that calls to the hotline from homeowners who are current with their mortgages are up 70 percent this year. Of those counseled, half stated that ""mounting instability"" to continue payments could cause them to default. More than 75 percent of those current borrowers had credit scores above the subprime threshold when they took out the loan.

Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Monday a new Spanish-language website for the Making Home Affordable Program, which seeks to stabilize the U.S. housing market by helping homeowners get mortgage relief and avoid foreclosure.

Mortgage Contracting Services LLC (MCS), a nationwide provider of property preservation, inspections, and REO property maintenance to the financial services industry, announced Tuesday the opening of a new location in Ruston, Louisiana. The 10,300-square-foot facility is MCS' third site and is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of August.

The Rhode Island Superior Court rejected challenges to Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems, Inc. and other defendants' authority to hold, assign, or foreclose. Justice Allen P. Rubine issued eight decisions from April to June that dismissed wrongful foreclosure and other claims against the corporation.