A group of properties located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania valued at almost $3.4 million were sold for less than a third of their value at the September 2009 annual upset tax sale. According to a recent report by the Real Estate Tax Sale Law Network, Inc. (RETSL), a servicer who connects lenders and property owners with legal experts who know the intricacies of real estate tax sale law, the properties sold for a total of $1,066,394, equaling only 31 percent of their value.

After a comprehensive search process by the American Securitization Forum (ASF) board of directors, Tom Deutsch was appointed as the organization's executive director. Members of the board said they strongly believe Deutsch has the leadership skills, as well as the depth of experience and understanding of the industry to guide ASF in its efforts to restart the securitization markets and restore vital credit to Maine Street and everyday Americans.

Following a review by HUD, Chicago Bancorp, an independent mortgage bank based in Chicago, will be permitted to underwrite and close mortgage loans without prior HUD review, according to an announcement Monday by the bank. Participation in the Direct Endorsement Program is a privilege accorded only to mortgagees who continue to demonstrate the ability to originate mortgage loans in according with HUD underwriting policy, the federal agency said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released its monthly Foreclosure Prevention Report, which summarizes loss mitigation activity for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), the GSEs have initiated 43,000 permanent modifications and 442,500 active trials. FHFA also reported that in 2009, the two companies refinanced more than 4 million loans for struggling homeowners.

Both single-family home and condo sales saw remarkable growth in the month of December, but 2009's total sales were still down from overall sales in 2008, The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data in New England, recently reported.

Although the dollar amount of mortgage fraud remained virtually unchanged last year, the number of mortgage fraud cases surged, according to a recent report on PRNewswire. Up from 1,488 cases in 2008, the number of mortgage fraud cases in 2009 jumped to 1,677.

Wells Fargo is the nation's top commercial and multifamily mortgage servicer, according to data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Monday, followed by PNC Real Estate and Berkadia Commercial Mortgage. New analysis by MBA also contradicts earlier doom and gloom forecasts regarding maturity levels of commercial real estate loans. The trade group says only about 13 percent, or $184 billion, of the $1.45 trillion dollars in outstanding mortgages held by non-bank investors is scheduled to come due in 2010.

The Catylist commercial information exchange (CIE) service was recently adopted for the commercial members of My Florida Regional MLS (MFRMLS), a consortium of 13 Realtor boards and Florida's largest multiple listing service (MLS) with approximately 30,000 subscribers.

On Friday, Encore Equities, LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises, Inc, named Scot Clevenger as the company's VP of capital markets. In his new position, Clevenger will cultivate investor and partner relationships and identify projects that meet the company's investment criteria.

Loan Resolution Corporation (LRC), a pre-foreclosure asset manager based in Scottsdale, Arizona, recently announced that it has successfully completed its Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70 (SAS 70) Type II certification, the widely recognized auditing standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.