The expanded bill requires mortgagees to provide homeowners with early notice that they are legally entitled to remain in their homes until the foreclosure process is complete (until a court orders them to leave), since many homeowners are unaware that they do not have to leave the house immediately when the foreclosure process begins.

The industry provided 147,000 non-foreclosure solutions for distressed homeowners in February compared to 28,000 completed foreclosures for the month, a ratio of more than five to one, according to HOPE NOW.

Overall, 53.5 percent of investors surveyed said they preferred flipping, while 44.8 percent said they intended to rent the houses they purchased. A larger portion of real estate investors (55 percent) and investors working on behalf of another investor (66.3 percent) said they intended to flip, while a majority of investors making a one-time purchase (66.9 percent) said they intended to rent.

In the ESR's April 2015 Economic Outlook released Monday, the projection for economic growth in 2015 held steady at 2.8 percent despite a downward adjustment for Q1 growth from the prior forecast. However, Fannie Mae is expecting some volatility in financial markets due to the Federal Reserve's expected interest rate increase later in the year.

When considering adjustments to G-fees for certain categories of loans, FHFA took into account the decision (also announced Friday) to enhance the eligibility standards for mortgage insurance companies. Overall, the FHFA said, the modest changes being made to the upfront G-fees are revenue neutral and will mean little or no change for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Judge Richard Seeborg, in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, ruled that Wells Fargo had breached the terms of the settlement by using "evolving and perhaps ill-defined standards" when determining borrowers' eligibility for a loan modification, according to one report. At the same time, however, Seeborg told both sides they had had "almost no idea" what they agreed to in the settlement.

Bank of America originated $17 billion worth of first-lien residential mortgage loans and home equity loans in Q1, which helped the bank's net income rise to $3.4 billion for Q1. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank also reported a 45 percent year-over-year decline in the number of first mortgage loans serviced by its Legacy Assets unit that were 60 or more days delinquent, down to 153,000.

The Appeals Court of Massachusetts became the latest court to uphold the validity of the assignment of a mortgage by Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) on Friday, according to an announcement from MERSCORP Holdings, parent company of MERS.

California-based firms The Life Planning Companies and National Real Estate Solutions (NRES) have teamed with Henderson, Nevada-based RIO Genesis to take advantage of RIO's breakthrough technology platform, national real estate broker organization (the NRBA), and numerous RIO Genesis users, real estate brokers, and agents, according to an announcement from RIO Genesis CEO Michael Krein.

Matthews, North Carolina-based default servicing and real estate closing law firm Brady & Kosofsky, P.A., announced that the firm has successfully completed a Service Organization Control 2 (SOC 2) Type 1 certification under AT Section 101.