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Loss Mitigation

New Jersey Chief Justice Threatens to Suspend State Foreclosures

After reviewing a report and recommendations presented to him, New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced on Monday a series of steps to protect the integrity of foreclosure filings in the state. The report featured a review of robo-signing irregularities by mortgage lenders and servicers and included analysis of actions other states had taken.

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Wells Fargo Agrees to $2 Billion Worth of California Loan Modifications

Wells Fargo has reached an agreement with California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., to provide loan modifications worth more than $2 billion to an estimated 14,900 California homeowners with pick-a-pay loans originated by World Savings and Wachovia, banks Wells Fargo acquired. Wells Fargo will also pay an additional $32 million to thousands of borrowers who lost their homes through foreclosure. The bank says the majority of Wachovia's Pick-a-Payment customers reside in California.

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Pitch for National Mortgage Servicing Rules Gains Momentum

The call for federal officials to establish industry-wide mortgage servicing and foreclosure standards is getting louder. A group of more than 50 senior economists, academic leaders, and influential investors sent a letter to the heads of federal regulatory agencies Tuesday, urging them to take the lead in setting national standards for mortgage loan servicers. The group argues that widely reported fraud in servicers' dealings with homeowners and foreclosure procedures demands new standards be adopted now.

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Veteran of CRE Liquidations Launches Florida Asset Management Firm

Peter Monroe was president of the oversight board of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) in the early 1990s. During his tenure there, he lent his expertise to unwinding hundreds of billions of commercial mortgages from insolvent savings and loan (S&L) institutions. With the current real estate downturn, such skills are in demand again, and Monroe has his sights set on the Florida commercial property market.

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GSEs’ Foreclosures Outnumber Modifications More than 2 to 1 in Q3

For every home loan held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that was modified during the third quarter, 2.3 loans were foreclosed on during the same period. The GSEs initiated foreclosure on 339,000 home mortgages during the July to September timeframe. Loan modifications completed in the quarter totaled 146,500, with the majority of those completed through non-HAMP programs. The two companies approved 29,500 short sales during the third quarter.

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Fannie Mae Opens First Mortgage Help Center in Texas

Fannie Mae is adding a sixth mortgage help center to its arsenal with its first Texas location. The new center, located in Dallas, is a partnership with two local non-profit housing agencies that will provide free counseling services for struggling Dallas/Fort Worth-area homeowners with loans owned by Fannie Mae. Counselors will review a borrower's loan, discuss foreclosure alternatives, collect the required documents for the federal Making Home Affordable program, and provide help to finalize any pending loan workout efforts.

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Freddie Mac Extends Foreclosure Protection for Service Members

Freddie Mac will delay initiating and resuming foreclosure for at least nine months for financially troubled service members released from active duty through the end of 2011. The decision will give lenders more time to work with service members and explore relief options designed to assist them, according to a statement from Freddie Mac.

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Bank of America Embroiled in Another Fraud Suit

A second state has filed a lawsuit against Bank of America for alleged deceptive loan modification and foreclosure practices. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced that her office has also opened a lawsuit against the company and its affiliates regarding its residential mortgage servicing procedures. Bank of America says it is disappointed by the lawsuit and is currently engaged in multi-state discussions to improve foreclosure related processes and programs to help distressed homeowners.

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Counseling Improves Mod Success, Nearly Doubles Payment Reductions

Data released by NeighborWorks America Monday illustrates the value of foreclosure prevention counseling for distressed homeowners. The organization has found that a homeowner who works with a housing counselor is nearly two times more likely to avoid foreclosure than those who go it alone. Counseled borrowers also lower their monthly mortgage payments by nearly twice as much and are less likely to re-default after a mortgage modification.

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Software Systems Exempt from FTC’s Ban on Upfront Mod Fees

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will enact a ban on advance fees charged for loan modification and mortgage assistance rescue services starting January 31, to prevent providers of such services from collecting upfront fees from homeowners without successfully securing a loan modification. The new rule, however, exempts fees charged in advance for loan modification products, such as software systems that produce modification documentation like the technology offered by loss mitigation software provider the Loan Post, Inc.

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