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Loss Mitigation

Loan Modifications Surpass One Million Mark for 2010

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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Los Angeles Adopts MERS System

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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American Home Mortgage Charged with Violating Debt Collection Laws

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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Dodd-Frank Reform Act Includes Stricter Rules for Appraisals

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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Servicers Fail to Deliver on Loan Mod Best Practices: J.D. Power

By Carrie Bay | 08/31/2010

U.S. consumers are less satisfied with their experience during the loan modification process than they are during loan origination, namely because mortgage servicers are missing the mark when it comes to delivering on best practices, according to J.D. Power and Associates. The company's survey found that mortgage servicers fail to adhere to a time frame for approval, don't provide the customer with status updates, and repeatedly ask borrowers for the same information. BB&T ranks highest in customer satisfaction among mortgage servicers.
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Marix Acquisition to Create Top 10 Subprime Mortgage Servicer

By Heather Hill Cernoch | 08/30/2010

Marix Servicing LLC, a Phoenix, Arizona-based specialty mortgage servicer, will be acquired by Walter Investment Management Corp. through an agreement with Marix's parent company Marathon Asset Management. The acquisition, which is expected to close in the next 30 to 60 days, will create one of the nation's top 10 servicers of subprime mortgages.
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LPS Reports a Jump in Foreclosure Starts in July

By Carrie Bay | 08/27/2010

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) offered the industry a ray of hope when it reported Thursday that foreclosure starts were down nearly 10 percent in Q2, but the brightness quickly faded when Lender Processing Services (LPS) released its own dataset. MBA's numbers were based on data through the end of June. LPS reports that by the end of July, foreclosure starts had jumped back up by 24.5 percent. It's the fourth highest level ever recorded by the company.
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GSEs' Single-Family Delinquency Rates Fall

By Carrie Bay | 08/27/2010

The percentage of home loans 90 or more days past due held by the nation's two largest mortgage companies has declined yet again. Fannie Mae's single-family serious delinquency rate has fallen to 4.99 percent. It's the fourth straight month that Fannie has reported a decline. Freddie Mac's serious delinquencies dropped to 3.89 percent, the fourth decrease in five months. The reciprocated declines seem a welcome herald, but researchers say they're merely the consequence of an increase in GSE foreclosures.
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Corelogic Announces Launch of Short Sale Monitoring Technology

By Heather Hill Cernoch | 08/27/2010

CoreLogic has announced the launch of its new Short Sale Monitoring Solution. The company says it's the industry's first short sale fraud prevention and pricing technology. The solution alerts lenders to "risky" pending and closed short sales. It matches details against other pending loan applications in CoreLogic's database and public records for the same property, and continues to watch properties for a period specified by the lender after short sales have closed.
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Specialized Loan Servicing Hires New SVP of Default Operations

By Heather Hill Cernoch | 08/27/2010

Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS) in Littleton Colorado, announced Thursday that Oscar Southall is the company's new SVP of default operations. Prior to joining SLS, Southall held executive positions at Litton Loan Servicing for almost a decade. Most recently, he was VP of default administration. During the past nine months, SLS has added 150 new employees and $8 billion in loans to its servicing portfolio, and the company anticipates continued growth over the next year.
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