Trott & Trott, P.C., one of the nation's largest law firms conducting residential default procedures and foreclosure avoidance solutions, has announced that two of its attorneys were recognized as ""Top Lawyers"" by dbusiness magazine. David A. Trott, president and managing partner of the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based firm, was selected in the real estate category. Marcy J. Ford, EVP and managing partner for the firm's bankruptcy and foreclosure first legal department, was selected in the bankruptcy category.

Wells Fargo will donate $1.5 million in grants to 23 California nonprofits to preserve homeownership, increase affordable housing, and stabilize some of the state's hardest hit communities, according to a statement from the San Francisco-based company. Nationwide, Wells Fargo's Housing Foundation has contributed $5 million for housing efforts in 34 cities.

Former Oklahoma governor Frank Keating will join the American Bankers Association (ABA) as president and CEO on December 1. ABA's current president and CEO, Ed Yingling, is retiring. In addition to his eight years as governor of Oklahoma, Keating has held senior positions with the Justice Department, Treasury, and HUD in Washington, D.C.

The Warren Group reports that year-over-year foreclosure petitions and deeds decreased in the Bay State during October. It was the first time this year that both petitions and deeds fell in Massachusetts. Foreclosure petitions plunged nearly 51 percent from October 2009 to 1,127 last month, the first month since January they have dropped below 2,000. Home sales also fell in October, down more than 28 percent. It's the fourth straight month of year-over-year sales declines.

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage is expanding its commercial real estate financing options offered through its nationwide mortgage banking network. The addition of fixed-rate loans for inclusion in the new generation of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) is expected to be available in early 2011. Also under development is a short-term floating-rate loan program, which will provide temporary financing to select multifamily borrowers with pending Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac executions.

Wipeout, an electronic information security application from technology development firm IndiSoft, is now available to the financial services industry in the United States. The application, which is currently used in the health care industry in India, enables users to permanently remove sensitive data from the hard drives of PCs and laptops. IndiSoft says the technology is critical to ensuring data held by financial institutions is not compromised.

InHouse Inc., a California-headquartered appraisal management company and provider of appraiser management technology for banks, lenders, credit unions, and other mortgage originators, has announced the addition of two new employees. Richard Heft is the company's new national operations manager, and Susan Anderson will serve as VP of sales for the Northeast region.

A new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule bans providers of foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable. The rule also requires mortgage relief companies to provide their clients with a document describing the key changes to the mortgage that would result if the consumer accepts the offer. They must also remind consumers of their right to reject the offer without any charge.

McGeough Lamacchia, a real estate agency headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, recently extended its services to include the Rhode Island market. Specializing in short sales, the agency says it hopes to expand into additional markets across New England. According to a statement from the company, it has successfully completed more short sale transactions than any other real estate firm in Massachusetts and currently holds a number one MLS ranking in short sales.

Reisenfeld & Associates, a Cincinnati-based legal services provider to the mortgage banking industry, recently added Rebecca N. Algenio and Ryan F. Hemmerle as associate counsels. Algenio joins the litigation department from Finney, Stagnaro, Saba & Patterson Co., LPA. Hemmerle joins the firm's bankruptcy and litigation departments from Katz, Greenberger & Norton, LLP.