Assurant has announced its acquisition of Field Asset Services, significantly expanding its presence in the property preservation, inspection, and restoration industry. The acquisition broadens the field services business launched in 2011 by Assurant Specialty Property as Assurant Property Advantage.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has announced a new certification standard for Realtors who wish to specialize in working with members of the military. The Military Relocation Professional certification would be offered as an elective for NAR's Accredited Buyers Representative designation.

On a month-by-month basis, home prices slowed their rebound in July according to a home values report released today by Lender Processing Services (LPS). LPS's Home Pricing Index showed housing prices rose just 0.6 percent from June but were still up 8.7 percent from July 2012.

Fannie Mae has announced a change to the operations of its Mortgage Help Centers, which are located in areas of the country hardest hit by the housing crisis. Because the centers see so little foot traffic, Fannie Mae will transition to a telephone and email based system to help struggling homeowners.

A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed a lawsuit brought by BlackRock Inc and other asset management companies that sought to block the city of Richmond, California, from seizing underwater homes under eminent domain laws. The city council of Richmond had voted by a narrow margin to work with lawyers from Mortgage Resolution Partners LLC (MRP) to seize more than 600 properties under eminent domain in an effort to prevent foreclosure and blight.

A report released this week by mortgage technology company FNC indicates that the foreclosure market has improved dramatically in recent months, with foreclosure rates nearing pre-crisis levels. According to FNC's Director of Research Yanling Mayer, the Foreclosure Market Report reflects rising home equity for homeowners who are trading up to more expensive houses.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that it will begin accepting electronic signatures in conjunction with its VA Home Loan Program. The move anticipates what some hope will be universally acceptable esignatures and the fully electronic mortgage.

The Office of the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) has issued a report finding that Fannie Mae overpaid mortgage servicers approximately $89 million in expenses related to default servicing in 2012. Fannie Mae outsources its reimbursement review process to management consulting firm Accenture, whose employees manually process the vast majority of claims.

Single family rentals appear poised to become a significant class of long-term investment asset according to a new report by financial services firm Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods (KBW). The general increase in the rental market brought on by the recession, coupled with elements of recovery such as low inventory and strong re-sales suggest that broad institutional investment in single-family rental properties could emerge as an appealing market, attracting more players in the process.

Credit Plus announced Friday that the company is now a certified reseller of Equifax Verification Services (EVS). EVS offers online employment verification from Equifax's The Work Number database. [IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK] Lenders today operate in an environment of heightened regulation making the need to have reliable verification processes from a credentialed source more important than ever, said Michael Kuentz, verification services leader at Equifax.