Foreclosure

The Mediation Center Southeast announced on Wednesday the expansion of the Foreclosure Meditation Program, a woman owned nonprofit that is a court approved alternative to the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation (RMFM) program in Florida. According to a press release, through the Foreclosure Mediation Program, The Mediation Center Southeast strives to provide an effective mediation program - not just a program that is compliant with the Florida Supreme Court Administrative Order.

The creditor's rights law firm Gerner & Kearns, Co., L.P.A. recently announced the appointment of D. Anthony Sottile as a senior associate in the firm's default services practice group as its lead bankruptcy attorney, and Crystal L. Saresky as an associate also in the firm's default services practice group. Both attorneys join the firm with nearly 10 years' experience.

DRI Management Systems, Inc., a provider of default process management software, added new functionality with several new modules to version 1.4 of its flagship technology. Officially relabeled DRI Office, the platform was previously known by its development code name, Rincon. According to DRI, the new version was created to relieve mortgage servicers' workloads and improve results with capacity planning, workflow tracking, services ordering, and enhanced communication capabilities.

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.

HSBC Holdings has suspended all foreclosure actions in the United States, according to the company's annual regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). HSBC says it decided to temporarily halt foreclosure proceedings after examinations by federal regulators uncovered what the company described as ""deficiencies"" in its handling of legal paperwork related to foreclosure cases. HSBC is Europe's largest bank. It operates in the United States as HSBC Finance and HSBC Bank USA.

Fannie Mae issued a servicing guide update Tuesday, which adds 14 additional states to the GSE's list of jurisdictions in which its servicers must use one of the legal firms approved by Fannie Mae to handle all foreclosure and bankruptcy matters. As specified by the GSE, the firms within its retained attorney network must handle all issues relating to mortgage loans held in Fannie Mae's portfolio as well as certain securities. As of now, the District of Columbia and all states except for six are subject to the GSE's retained attorney requirements.

Two more rulings have defended the right of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) to foreclose on behalf of lenders. A case in New Hampshire and another in California affirmed the right of the company to act as a nominee on behalf of its members and foreclose on properties. In recent weeks, courts in Massachusetts and Kansas have also upheld the standing of MERS in foreclosure cases, although a New York court ruled MERS cannot act on behalf of lenders.

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.

More legal woes have developed for Bank of America, as some of its mortgage investors brought a lawsuit against the lender in an attempt to force the bank to buy back bad loans. The original balance of securitized loans involved in the case was $2.8 billion, and the plaintiffs claim their trustee ""unreasonably failed"" to sue BofA. Another group of investors, which is engaged in talks with the bank in hopes of avoiding a legal battle in court, has nearly doubled the amount of allegedly faulty loans it wants Bank of America to repurchase.