Today’s tumultuous housing market can be a dangerous place for the brokers, agents, and field inspectors who must walk into foreclosed and REO properties on a daily basis. Occupied or vacant, these properties represent unfamiliar territory often rife with unknown peril.

The LOGS Network, a centrally-managed national network of attorneys, trustees, title personnel, and collection staff representing the mortgage servicing and consumer credit industries, recently announced the formation of a new law firm member serving the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Following suit behind other national lenders such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup said on Monday that it is stopping foreclosures on borrowers who occupy their property as a principal residence and have enough income to keep up lower, renegotiated mortgage payments.

Government officials and mortgage industry leaders announced a major initiative Tuesday that is designed to stem the growing number of foreclosures on a national scale by streamlining loan modifications to put struggling homeowners into sustainable mortgages.

Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Ocwen Financial Corporation, a servicer of subprime mortgages, have signed a compact that is designed to reduce foreclosures and keep Maryland homeowners in their homes.

A Colorado regulator who has led previous crackdowns on captive reinsurance agreements and sham affiliated business arrangements says she has grave concerns about the legality of real estate marketing agreements.

Two attorneys at Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen P.C., a Midwest firm specializing in creditor’s rights and the mortgage servicing and default industries, recently received top awards in Missouri and Kansas.

Fannie Mae announced its third quarter financial results today, reporting a net loss of $29 billion or ($13.00) per diluted share, driven largely by deteriorating mortgage market conditions, the company said.

RedVision, an independent provider of real property research technology and solutions, announced today that it has added Harris County, Texas to its TitleVision platform, a propriety title plant that gives real estate professionals a single-source property report solution.

Foreclosures fell for the second month in a row in October to nationwide lows not seen since last February, according to the latest U.S. Foreclosure Index from ForeclosureS.com. Nationally, October pre-foreclosure filings — which can include notice of default and/or foreclosure auction — were down more than 10 percent from August’s highs, and nearly 7 percent from September’s numbers.