So many times before, we have found ourselves assessing our children’s bedrooms, our best friends dorm room in college, or even our good friend who chooses not to keep their living quarters quite as tidy as most tend to do, and we think to ourselves, sheesh, what a dump! Keith Maxim of Maxim Enterprises in Michigan encountered a property that was litter-ally a dump.

LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc., has named Todd F. Miller senior vice president and general auditor. In his new position, Miller will oversee the company’s auditing responsibilities, advise management about minimizing risks, and examine business systems, processes, and controls within the company.

Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers announced his proposal of key legislation aimed at decreasing or eliminating appraisal fraud and deceptive practices of mortgage brokers. Last year, thanks to the efforts of the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Task Force, new consumer protections were adopted for families facing foreclosure and stiffer penalties were enacted to address mortgage fraud, said Suthers.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) announced that it will layoff almost a quarter of its workforce. The agency says funding cuts have left no choice but to lay off 22 percent of its employees. The cuts are deep and they hurt, said Carl Greene, executive director of PHA.

Hard-to-Sell, versus Sale 1. Know your market. Drive through the neighborhood to make an assessment of whether the property’s surroundings will add to or take away from its value. In addition to checking out the neighborhood, Nystrom says he also takes the time to get a feel for the property.

U.S. Bank Home Mortgage reached a company milestone on January 4 when the company’s mortgage servicing surpassed $100 billion in volume. U.S. Bank is ranked sixteenth among mortgage companies in terms of servicing portfolio and is in the top 20 for mortgage originations.

A longtime promoter of homeownership, Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) has teamed up with the National Urban League, the Philadelphia Urban League, and the Homeownership Preservation Foundation to launch a program in response to the alarming number of properties facing foreclosure.

First American Title Insurance Company announced today that is has acquired Brainer, Minnesota-based Complete Title Services, LLC. The company will continue to operate as Complete Title and retain its current management structure.

SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., recently named Denis McLaughlin senior vice president and chief credit officer. In his new position, McLaughlin will oversee all areas of the company’s credit risk function, which includes credit policy and exception approval administration, forecasting and decision modeling, analytics and reporting, quality control, fraud mitigation, and third-party risk management.

The City of Thornton, Colorado plans to host a workshop on January 23 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Adams County has a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 132 households, which is 7.