Agents & Brokers
By Carrie Bay | 02/07/2012
Fannie Mae announced Tuesday that it has expanded its online system to accept purchase offers for all its REOs listed for sale. Real estate agents will now submit offers online on behalf of clients, receive receipt confirmation, and track the status of submitted offers through the HomePath.com website. In November 2010, Fannie Mae launched the HomePath Online Offers pilot in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; and Detroit, Michigan. Now, the Online Offers feature is available for all Fannie Mae-owned properties across the nation.
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By Krista Franks | 02/07/2012
While the industry awaits the final details of the attorneys general settlement with the nation’s largest servicers, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced Tuesday it is prosecuting DocX, LLC, and its founder, Lorraine Brown, for forgery and false declarations on mortgage documents. The announcement comes after a grand jury delivered 136-count criminal indictments against DocX and Brown, the result of several months of investigation.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/07/2012
An estimated 1.05 million homeowners received permanent loan modifications from mortgage servicers in 2011, according to year-end data released Tuesday by HOPE NOW. That tally includes both proprietary and government-program mods, and represents a 40 percent decline from the 1.76 million modifications granted in 2010. At the same time, HOPE NOW reports loan modifications outpaced foreclosure sales for the fourth consecutive year. In 2011, there were approximately 843,000 foreclosure sales completed, down from 1.07 million in 2010.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/06/2012
The number of housing markets showing measurable improvement expanded by 29 metros in February to include a total of 98 markets listed on the Improving Markets Index from First American and the National Association of Home Builders. The index tracks markets that are showing signs of improving economic health as measured by growth in employment and home price appreciation. Notable additions include Miami and Detroit. Washington, D.C. was dropped from the index this month as it showed a softening in home prices.
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By Krista Franks | 02/06/2012
The deadline for the 50 state attorneys general to sign onto the settlement negotiated between the committee headed by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and five large servicers was extended from Friday to Monday. Late Monday evening, Miller's office issued a statement saying more than 40 states have agreed to participate. For the past few months, the number repeated from various sources is $25 billion. That's $25 billion that Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial would pay for a clean slate regarding robo-signing misdeeds of the past.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/06/2012
More than 930,000 homeowners have received a permanent modification through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), saving an estimated $10.5 billion in monthly mortgage payments, according to Treasury. While this tally - nearly three years after the program's launch - falls well short of the results initially promised by President Obama of helping 3 to 4 million homeowners restructure their loans, federal officials continue to tout a key success of HAMP as improving standards and processes within the industry.
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By Krista Franks | 02/06/2012
A New York housing counselor has been sentenced to 72 months in jail and three years supervision by a U.S. District Court judge after defrauding 136 homeowners who reached out for help as they attempted to avoid foreclosure. The judge also ordered Lori J. Macakanja to pay $298,639 in restitution to the homeowners affected. Macakanja reportedly required upfront fees from homeowners and promised in return to help them achieve mortgage modifications in order to stave off foreclosure.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/05/2012
Data through the end of January released by Clear Capital Monday shows home prices in the U.S. are down 2.6 percent from a year ago. The company's rolling quarter assessment, which compares the four months through January 2012 to the previous three months, returned a 1.6 percent decline in home prices at the national level, after three months of stability. Clear Capital says the culprit is the Midwest market, which saw a dramatic turnaround in momentum in January and led the nation in quarterly losses.
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By Carrie Bay | 02/03/2012
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against the nation's top three mortgage lenders charging that their use of the electronic registry system MERS has resulted in deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure filings throughout New York's state and federal courts. The lawsuit alleges that employees of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, acting as "MERS certifying officers," submitted court documents containing false information. MERS is also named as a defendant.
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By Krista Franks | 02/03/2012
Each month of 2011, outstanding mortgage balances in the U.S. declined by an average of $30 billion, according to a recently released report from Moody's Analytics and Equifax. The report attributes the decline to defaulted loans being written off. Aggregate delinquency rose by 6 basis points in December to 6.12 percent, according to the companies' joint study. The rate remains in line with rates seen since April but has declined since a January high of 8.25 percent.
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