When Chris Price with the Chris Price Real Estate Team in Indianapolis, Indiana, headed out to one of his newer listings, he never imagined what he would find. We received this assignment, and I promptly ventured out to visit the property, Chris remembers.

The legal community, which is has found itself at the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis, is facing a period in which they will have to meet the needs of borrowers, while also maintaining their original responsibility of protecting creditors’ rights.

AllRegs, an electronic publisher that serves as a hub for all GSE and mortgage lending guidelines, announced that it’s doing its part to ensure the underwriting side of the industry remains in compliance as regulations change in response to recent turmoil in the mortgage lending markets.

Foreclosure prevention counselors and struggling Tennessee borrowers will benefit from a new $1,329,700 grant that was recently secured by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). The funding, which is a significant cushion when considering the effort was founded with only a six-figure commitment, will support additional training for counselors, outreach efforts and the certification of new foreclosure prevention staff members.

Loan servicing companies that are in the process of organizing attorney summits now have the opportunity to utilize the education and planning expertise of the American Legal & Financial Network (AFN), which is a national network that offers educational and professional development opportunities to attorneys and those working in the mortgage loan servicing industry.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight)—the chief regulator of the nation’s government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—said Wednesday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be providing an additional $200 billion in liquidity to help stabilize the mortgage-backed securities market.

Citi said this week that it’s eliminating 479 positions associated with its home equity business, a spokesperson for the company confirmed on Tuesday. The employees impacted by these changes mainly work in the company’s broker and retail channel operations.

Austin, Texas-based Field Asset Services (FAS), a property preservation and REO maintenance and services provider, has nearly doubled its size and has added new key clients—including Fannie Mae, Keystone and IndyMac Bank—to accomodate today’s foreclosure-riddled marketplace.

California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr., closed five lending shops in the state this week after investigations revealed a series of predatory lending practices, including the falsification of loan documents, the drafting of closing signatures without borrower knowledge, and the act of luring unsuspecting borrowers into high-cost loans after promising a different set of terms during the marketing stage.

Las Vegas, Nevada-based AmeriBid company that is responding to the foreclosure crisis by introducing a platform that helps institutional real estate owners sell property efficiently—has named Stanley Tate its Chairman of the Board.