Foreclosure

Data from RealtyTrac shows that foreclosure activity last month fell to a level not seen since November 2008, after problems with paperwork prompted case reviews, foreclosure suspensions, and re-filings of affidavits by mortgage servicers. Foreclosure filings nationwide dropped 21 percent from the previous month and 14 percent from a year earlier. For the first time since February 2009, RealtyTrac says the total number of filings for the month dropped below 300,000.

Federal regulators on Wednesday announced changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) parameters to support communities affected by high foreclosure levels. The final rule encourages depository institutions to finance development projects in areas that qualify for HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Institutions will receive CRA credit for any NSP-eligible activities, such as loans extended to grant recipients to buy foreclosed homes or a donation of REO properties to a nonprofit housing organization.

New data from ForeclosureRadar shows that though there has been no major drop in delinquencies in the West Coast states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, foreclosure starts have fallen to 2008 levels. The company's report deduces that the drop in foreclosures is due to robo-signing issues and the moratoriums that followed the controversy. Notice of default filings in November were down 9.3 percent in California, while notice of sale filings dropped a stunning 31.7 percent in Washington.

CitiMortgage will host a mortgage assistance call-a-thon on Wednesday for customers who have concerns about paying their mortgages. The event begins at 7 a.m. on December 15, and continues until 1 a.m. on the morning of Thursday, December 16, EST. CitiMortgage borrowers can call the company's foreclosure prevention centers for information and advice during these expanded customer service hours. Foreclosure prevention experts will staff the event, but senior managers and supervisors will be on hand to provide additional support.

The Obama administration's signature foreclosure prevention program will help only 700,000 Americans save their homes, according to a scathing report released Tuesday by the Congressional Oversight Panel. The group's assessment falls far short of the 3 to 4 million homeowners that the president pledged would receive more sustainable mortgage loans when the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was launched in March of last year, and is well below the 8 to 13 million foreclosures expected by 2012.

Legal actions tied to mortgage lending jumped by 41 percent during the third quarter of the year, according to industry data released this week. Activity on more than 100 civil and criminal mortgage-related cases was tracked from July 1 through September 30 in the report prepared by the mortgage banking litigation firm Patton Boggs. Suits involving investor actions outnumbered all other types. Coming in next were actions related to foreclosures, an area that has drawn intense scrutiny with recent reports of widespread robo-signing.

The research firm CoreLogic says the share of mortgage borrowers who owed more on the loan than their home was worth shrank during the third quarter. But analysts say the news is hardly encouraging since the decline is being attributed to a rise in foreclosures rather than a rise in home prices. CoreLogic reports 10.8 million, or 22.5 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of Q3, down from 11.0 million, or 23 percent, three months earlier.

The time mortgage loan servicers take to resolve delinquent loans through modification or foreclosure varies widely. According to an analysis by Moody's Investors Service, Bank of America has demonstrated the weakest performance measured both by its speed in resolving the status of delinquent loans and by its proportion of delinquent loans that have yet to be resolved. The ratings agency found that GMAC Mortgage, on the other hand, has generally performed better than its peers.

According to Showhomes, a nationally franchised network of home stagers, staging a vacant home can keep squatters from moving in, a rising problem in the struggling housing market. A total of 19 million homes were vacant in the first quarter of 2010, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. Squatters are even occupying million-dollar homes in what has been called ""mansion squatting."" Actor Randy Quaid and his wife were recently caught squatting inside a $1 million property they previously owned in Southern California.

MDA DataQuick, one of the nation's largest independent providers of property data to real estate and mortgage professionals, recently updated PropertyFinder 2G, the company's property research tool. Changes include expanded property details on distressed sales transactions and more accurate tracking. The technology gives users access to a nationwide database of detailed property and ownership information, including property profiles, sales comparables, demographic information, and property history.