The nation's leading mortgage lenders are extending extras for short sale transactions employed as an alternative to foreclosure - both in the form of monetary incentives for borrowers and streamlined procedures for real estate agents. Wells Fargo has increased its financial relocation assistance to as much as $20,000 in states where the foreclosure process is lengthening. Bank of America is now allowing agents to submit a new backup offer for a short sale property if the original buyer has walked away.

The Kansas City, Missouri-based default servicing law firm Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen, P.C. announced Wednesday that Mandi R. Hunter has been named a partner with the firm. Hunter practices in the areas of business and commercial litigation and will lead the special assets group for the firm. She has been with Martin, Leigh, Laws & Fritzlen since 2005.

Data released by Freddie Mac Thursday shows that amid mixed economic reports and ongoing debate over the nation's debt, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage edged up ever so slightly this week but hit its highest mark in three weeks. Rates for adjustable-rate mortgages, on the other hand, inched down to a three-week low. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged from a week earlier.

The Collingwood Group announced Wednesday that it has retained Manoj K. Singh as a special advisor. In his new role, Dr. Singh will work with the Collingwood Group to help clients navigate the business opportunities that exist in Washington as a result of the housing crisis. Dr. Singh was previously SVP of single-family pricing and securitization at Freddie Mac. He also held executive-level positions with Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Wasserstein Perella Capital Management.

Bank of America has agreed to participate in Keep Your Home California's principal reduction program, the California Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday. Principal write-downs offered under the state-run program are part of a $2 billion, federally funded effort to help hard-hit families remain in their homes and ease the California foreclosure crisis. Bank of America has been engaged in a pilot of the principal reduction program since February, and is now moving into full participation.

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) is withdrawing from the foreclosure business. MERS has issued a notice to its members stating that no foreclosure proceeding may be initiated and no legal proceedings in a bankruptcy may be filed in the name of MERS. Amid an onslaught of court filings and foreclosure-related investigations, MERS proposed a rule change in March banning its members from using MERS as the foreclosing agent. The policy change has officially been adopted.

Auction.com is in the midst of a three-day online auction of Texas commercial real estate properties and nonperforming notes. The company says in total, the assets up for sale are valued at more than $300 million, making it the largest conglomerate of commercial real estate assets to be auctioned online in Texas history. Barclays Capital matched the list of assets to be sold to its database of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). The firm pegs CMBS exposure to the Texas auction at about $262.5 million.

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF), an independent nonprofit dedicated to helping distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure, unveiled its new, redesigned website Wednesday. HPF operates the nationwide Homeowner's HOPE Hotline. Its new site now mirrors the assistance already available via phone, including step-by-step details on the foreclosure process, an overview of alternative lender solutions, and details on government mortgage relief programs.

Raj Date will replace Elizabeth Warren as special advisor to the secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) when Warren departs from the agency at the end of this month, Treasury said in a statement Tuesday. Warren is returning to her position as the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

Concerns have begun to mount that underwriting standards for loans in newly issued commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) are on the decline. Addressing this issue, the analysts at Fitch Ratings say they believe there is quite a way to go before standards approach levels seen in 2007, a year viewed by many as the most volatile vintage for CMBS. While Fitch agrees that underwriting standards have declined in recent months, the company stressed that deterioration so far has been off of ""very high standards.""