Government
By Carrie Bay | 09/01/2010
In the first quarter of 2010, state housing finance agencies' (HFAs) delinquencies declined for the first time since overall performance of loans began to deteriorate in the second quarter of 2008, according to Standard & Poor's. But the agency's analysts say the slowdown could be only temporary. S&P's study shows delinquency rates for HFA loans remain high relative to a year ago. However, the percentage of HFA loans at least 60 days past due or in foreclosure decreased to 6.05 percent in Q1, down from 6.57 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/01/2010
Neighborhoods across the country are riddled with empty bank-owned homes and unoccupied foreclosures that erode neighboring property values and open the door for blight and criminal activity.
The nation's glut of vacant REOs took center stage in Washington Wednesday. HUD announced a new nationwide REO "First Look" program, in partnership with the nation's largest mortgage lenders, and it was the first of a two-day Federal Reserve summit to examine the community impacts of foreclosed and vacant properties.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/01/2010
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act) stipulates that residential loan officers at banks, credit unions, and other federally regulated financial institutions must register their names and fingerprints with a national database. Financial institutions must establish procedures for compliance by October 1, 2010, but the deadline by which employees must be registered is unknown, "because the necessary modifications to the registry have not been completed," according to federal officials.
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By Carrie Bay | 09/01/2010
The industry has completed 1.13 million permanent loan modifications for at-risk homeowners so far in 2010, according to data released Wednesday by HOPE NOW.
The organization also reports that since January of this year, mortgage delinquencies of 60 days or more past due have dropped 20 percent, but the data supports the assumption that the decline is simply the byproduct of an increase in foreclosures. July's foreclosure starts outpaced loan mods during the month by nearly 90 percent.
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By Heather Hill Cernoch | 09/01/2010
As an alternative to its registry of foreclosed properties and property preservation contacts for vacant properties, the city of Los Angeles is adopting the MERS System, an electronic loan registry that acts as a nominee in county land records on behalf of lenders and servicers. MERS members can use the system to track both residential and commercial properties. Users tout the benefits of the technology as saving code enforcement officials and municipalities both time and money to ensure vacant properties are maintained.
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By Carrie Bay | 08/31/2010
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says American Home Mortgage Servicing is using illegal debt collection practices and misleading struggling homeowners, resulting in foreclosure for some borrowers. Abbott brought formal charges against the company on Monday. State investigators allege that the mortgage servicer's agents used aggressive and unlawful tactics to collect payments and then in some cases, intentionally failed to properly credit homeowners.
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By Carrie Bay | 08/31/2010
The FDIC said Tuesday that the number of banks on the agency's so-called "Problem List" has risen to 829, up from 775 at the end of the first quarter of 2010.
The number of troubled institutions now under the FDIC's watchful eye is the highest it's been since March 1993, when the savings and loan crisis was in full swing. The 2010 failed-bank tally stands at 118.
More banks may be deemed as "problem," but the FDIC says the banking sector overall enjoyed its most profitable quarter since the start of the recession.
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By Heather Hill Cernoch | 08/31/2010
The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act includes new appraisal management rules as well as stricter laws and firmer penalties for lenders. The bill's appraiser independence standards will give lenders new options on managing appraisers, and lenders are scrambling to evaluate options to decide what will benefit their businesses. An October deadline is looming for the issuance of new appraiser independence rules, which are expected to be more stringent than the Home Value Code of Conduct (HVCC).
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By Carrie Bay | 08/30/2010
In a rare break from what has been the norm throughout the recession, this weekend saw no bank closings. Since January 2008, more than 280 banks and thrifts have collapsed, most as a direct result of problems in the real estate markets. The research firm Foresight Analytics estimates that 200, and possibly 300 to 400, banks are at risk of failure over the next 12 to 24 months, but the company says a number of community banks have begun to shed some of their problem commercial real estate loans.
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By Carrie Bay | 08/30/2010
After a worse than expected falloff in home sales during the month of July, buzz about a possible revival of the federal homebuyer tax credit has begun to surface.
Sales of previously owned homes plummeted 27 percent last month, hitting their lowest mark in 15 years. New home sales also took a dive, dropping nearly 13 percent. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan says the July numbers were worse than was expected and are cause for concern, and he's not ruling out a return of the tax credit incentives.
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