FJM Security Products announced a new patented lockbox to ensure security when storing keys. Through the lockbox, keys for residential homes, commercial buildings, and bank-owned vacated properties can be securely placed.

Homeowners who are denied a modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) even after completing a trial period plan (TPP) have legal standing to sue their lender, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Thursday. Reversing a lower court dismissal, the ""panel held that the district court should not have dismissed the plaintiffs' complaints when the record before it showed that the bank had accepted and retained the payments demanded by the TPP,"" the court opinion stated.

PEMCO, an asset management company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, will launch a new website August 13. The launch of PEMCO-limited.com represents the final stage of the company's nine month re-branding campaign.

As local governments consider the use of eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages, they may have to deal with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) before moving forward with the plan. In a statement Thursday, FHFA stated it may ""initiate legal challenges"" to local or state actions that authorize the use of eminent domain to restructure mortgage contracts impacting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Another action the GSEs' regulator might take is limit or stop business activity in jurisdictions that authorize the use of eminent domain to restructure mortgages.

The percentage of homeowners behind on their mortgage fell to the lowest level since 2008, with a decrease in 90-plus delinquencies driving the improvement, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). On a seasonally adjusted basis, the national mortgage delinquency rate on one-to-four unit residences stood at 6.96 percent in the second quarter, a decrease from 7.25 percent in the first quarter and 7.58 percent a year ago. ""For most of the country, delinquencies and foreclosures have returned to more normal historical levels,"" said Jay Brinkmann, MBA's chief economist and SVP of research and economics.

For the first time since November 2012, asking home prices decreased month-over-month, slipping 0.3 percent from June to July, Trulia reported. ""If you were worried about a housing bubble, July's asking-price slowdown will probably be the best news you've heard this year,"" said Jed Kolko, Trulia's chief economist. Factors such as rising mortgage rates, growing inventory, and declining investor demand were attributed to the dip in asking prices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department filed separate complaints against Bank of America and certain subsidiaries for allegedly misrepresenting an $855 million offering of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), according to statements Tuesday.

MortgageKeeper Referral Services announced Take Charge America, Inc. counselors are now using the company’s database to access important resources for customers. Through MortgageKeeper's MKDesktop product, Take Charge America's credit and housing counselors can connect customers to a database of over 7,000 well-vetted nonprofits and government services.

A former 12-year federal fugitive who fled to Canada was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for his leading role in a fraudulent scheme that delayed hundreds of foreclosure sales, according to a statement Tuesday from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).

In July, national home prices jumped 9.3 percent year-over-year, led by gains in the West, according to Clear Capital's latest housing report. Among metro areas, price gains were especially strong in Las Vegas, where home values spiked 31.2 percent from last year. Despite the recent streak of impressive home price gains, Clear Capital expects the market to experience more moderate and sustainable increases in the last half of 2013 as homebuyers transition into the ""new normal"" the report explained.