Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

The Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner & Engel family of law firms has reacquired National Default Exchange (NDeX), NDeX Title, and NDeX West from the Dolan Company. The deal puts the law firms of the BDF Law Group in direct and complete control over their entire operations. Dolan's decision to shed the NDeX assets is in line with the company's plans to move into specialized business technology for law firms and away from business processing and back office services.

Even though both the United States and Europe experienced price declines starting in 2007, the increase in mortgages default rates over time was much more severe in the United States compared to Europe. For example, in the United States, prices fell 7.7 percent from 2007 to 2008, and default rates spiked 93.2. In Europe, prices fell 6.8 percent from 2008 to 2009, yet mortgage defaults increased by 11 percent. The report authors attributed the difference to two specific regulations used in Europe to prevent mortgage defaults.

Since its debut in 2007, the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program, established by Congress to address the housing crisis, has reached more than 1.4 million homeowners, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. However, the Center suggests there are plenty of homeowners still in need in still-struggling parts of the country. According to the Center, 21 towns in Texas are among those in the greatest need of additional foreclosure counseling services.

The Federal Reserve Board announced Friday a settlement with GMAC Mortgage that will end the complex and costly foreclosure reviews required through prior enforcement actions. GMAC will pay about $230 million in cash payments to mortgage borrowers as part of the foreclosure deal. According to a statement from the Fed, over 232,000 GMAC borrowers whose homes were in any stage of foreclosure in 2009 and 2010 will receive payment relief.

Distressed property sales have declined drastically in California over the last year, according to a recent report from PropertyRadar. In June, sales for distressed homes and condominiums plunged 46.5 percent year-over-year in June. On the other hand, non-distressed property sales shot up by 31.3 percent during the same time period. Government intervention is the main driving force behind the declines in distressed property sales, according to the report authored by Madeline Schnapp, director of economics research at the firm.

According to J.D. Power, overall satisfaction with servicers has increased to 733 (on a 1,000 point scale) from last year's value of 725. The market research firm attributes the increase to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's release of origination and servicing guidelines, most of which are scheduled to go into effect January 2014. Under the rules, servicers are required to have systems, policies, and procedures in place to ensure customers receive appropriate information and support.

For several markets across the country, strong home price growth is also attached to a double-digit unemployment rate, leading Fitch Ratings to view the strong price appreciation as unsustainable. In a recent report, Fitch highlighted seven metro areas where high unemployment rates were in the backdrop of annual double-digit home price gains. The top two were Detroit and Las Vegas, while the remaining five were in California: Sacramento, Stockton, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Riverside.

Servicers provided nearly 74,000 modifications for distressed homeowners in May, up from 70,000 in April, according to data from HOPE NOW, an alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and nonprofit counselors. This raises the total for modifications to 6.47 million since 2007, which is when HOPE NOW began keeping track. Short sales also ticked up in May, rising slightly to 28,000, up from 27,000 in April. Since 2009, the industry has provided about 1.29 million short sales to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Short sales continue to rise along with demand for services provided by selling agents who have the knowledge and experience needed to successfully execute these complex, multifaceted transactions. Although short sales are becoming a bigger part of the housing landscape, ShortSaleAgentFinder.com says there is a shortage of real estate agents skilled in the art of the short sale.

If two tweaks were made to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), refinancing activity could increase substantially, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. One change would be to remove the cutoff date that limits eligibility to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans that were obtained by June 1, 2009. The second change would be to allow borrowers to refinance under the program more than once.