Loss Mitigation

Green River Capital, an REO asset management and loss mitigation provider for mortgage servicers, investment firms, and banking institutions, recently announced several company achievements for 2010, including the addition of seven new clients, the expansion of its preferred agent network, and completion of its SAS 70 Type II certification.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued a notice announcing regulatory changes for modifying VA-guaranteed home loans. According to the department, the new rule makes VA loan modifications more flexible and encourages loan holders to modify more loans. It changes the requirements related to maximum interest rates allowed on modified VA loans and the items that can be capitalized into the modified loan amount.

According to Empowering and Strengthening Ohio's People, a non-profit foreclosure prevention counseling agency, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency's failure to distribute funding - in addition to federal budget cuts - means turning away some homeowners. Starting Tuesday, the agency says it will be forced to stop taking in homeowners referred from the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program.

The Nevada Supreme Court has updated the rules governing the state's foreclosure mediation program, which officials say are intended ""to clarify and streamline the processes"" of the program created by the state legislature in 2009 to address Nevada's foreclosure crisis. Among the revised rules, which take effect March 1, the court has expanded the time to file a petition for judicial review from 15 to 30 days after a party receives the mediator's statement.

Despite new rules for short sales under the government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program which went into effect on February 1, real estate agents responding to a survey said short sale transactions are still taking too long. A survey published recently by property valuations company Equi-Trax reveals the majority of short sales are taking four to nine months to complete, and Realtors say lenders are to blame, although some concede that borrowers need to be better educated about short sales.

Research released this week by the senior research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland reveals homeownership is more sustainable for people who come to the table with down payments. The study examines the types of homeowner assistance that the government uses to promote homeownership -- generally down payment subsidies or interest rate subsidies -- and finds down payment subsidies are more helpful and less expensive.

Regulators and attorneys general say their investigations of servicing practices have uncovered critical deficiencies and shortcomings that have resulted in violations of foreclosure laws. They've made it clear that mortgage servicers will be required to make operational changes and will be hit with sanctions and penalties. It's been reported that the 14 servicers subject to the investigations will, as a group, face a hefty $20 billion in fines, but there is dissension even among the government agencies involved over the amount. Negotiations are ongoing.

Allonhill, an independent third-party review firm specializing in mortgage due diligence and credit risk management, announced this week that Megan Von Wald joined the firm as managing director of credit risk management. Von Wald will oversee the day-to-day operations of the company's credit risk management services for the private and public sectors. Previously she served as director of operations for the mortgage servicing firm Statebridge Company.

A new module available from Fiserv, Inc., LoanServ: LoanLink, gives lenders the ability to offer borrowers the option to access their loan information, including loss mitigation options, via an Apple app. Consumers can update their loan information in real-time via the Internet or iPhone or iPad application, and retrieve such details as payoff requests, payment histories, and information about loan modifications and other options for borrowers struggling to make their mortgage payments.

Rep. Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced this week that he has scheduled a subcommittee hearing and full committee markup of four bills that will terminate what he says are ""failed and ineffective housing foreclosure programs."" On the chopping block are the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Short Refi Program, and the Emergency Homeowner Relief Fund passed under the Dodd-Frank Act.