Driven by legal actions against mortgage modification firms, overall mortgage litigation hit its highest level yet last quarter, according to recent industry study by the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Patton Boggs, LLP. The firm's analysis shows that loan modification cases more than doubled in the last three months of 2009 - and it appears the trend will persist as state and federal agencies continue to crack down on foreclosure rescue fraud.
Read More »CMBS Delinquencies Propelled by Five-Year Loans
The 29 basis-point (bp) increase in delinquencies to 6.26 percent at the end of February was driven in large part by upcoming maturities from U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) deals originated in 2005, according to Fitch Ratings. The agency says these five-year loans will have difficulty refinancing this year as liquidity remains limited, and warns that in many cases, sponsors will have to either contribute additional equity or look to their servicers for extensions and modifications.
Read More »RE/MAX Enhances Educational Platform
Although 2010 is expected to be a better year than 2009, the downturn in real estate isn't over yet. In an effort to prepare agents for challenges in the market, RE/MAX, a global real estate company based in Denver, has expanded and enhanced its educational platform--RE/MAX University.
Read More »Gil Borok Promoted to CFO at CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., a commercial real estate services firm headquartered in Los Angeles, announced Friday that is has promoted Gil Borok to CFO. He takes over the CFO responsibilities from Bob Sulentic, who will continue as president of the company.
Read More »CalHFA Plans to Put $700 Million in Funding to Good Use
The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) will receive nearly $700 million in new federal funding to help the state's most troubled homeowners stay in their homes. CalHFA is one of five housing agencies slated to receive a total of $1.5 billion in aid for states where unemployment is high and home prices have fallen more than 20 percent. CalHFA says it will submit its program plans to the federal government by April 16 and expects the new initiatives to be ready for implementation by mid-year or sooner.
Read More »Genworth Financial Joins Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services
Genworth Financial, a publicly-traded global financial security company headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, is the newest client of Providence, Rhode Island-based Lincoln Appraisal & Settlment Services, a national appraisal management and settlement services company.
Read More »Elevated Mortgage Risks are Rapidly Returning to Normal: UFA
University Financial Associates, LLC (UFA) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently released its quarterly Default Risk Index, showing that although mortgage risks are still elevated, they are quickly returning to normal levels.
Read More »HUD Addresses Root Causes of Foreclosure Crisis
As mandated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the secretary of HUD recently released a report to Congress addressing the root causes of the foreclosure crisis and made recommendations on actions that should be taken to mitigate the crisis and help prevent similar crises from occurring in the future.
Read More »HOPE NOW Helps Almost 2,100 Troubled Borrowers in February
Thousands of homeowners across the nation are facing foreclosure, but nearly 2,100 of these troubled borrowers received help through HOPE NOW's homeownership preservation events in Februaary in Sacramento, California and Houston. The workshop in Sacramento, California had 1,200 attendees, and almost 900 families attended the Houston workshop.
Read More »Saxon Appoints New EVP
Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc., based in Irving, Texas, announced Wednesday that it has named Stephen Staid as EVP of customer relationship management. His appointment comes as Saxon repositions itself into the residential subservicing space, specializing in distressed asset servicing.
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