Foreclosure

Buyers Protection Group, LLC, (BPG) recently launched a ""buyer's bundle"" that provides protection and savings for those who purchase bank-owned, foreclosure, or short-sell properties. The bundle combines the benefits of a professional home inspection with a 12-month home warranty. The company says while vacant or distressed homes can be a great value, they can pose unique challenges to homebuyers, highlighting the need for a professional inspection and extended home warranty.

Potestivo & Associates, P.C., a legal provider in the real estate finance and credit industry, will represent the FDIC as outside counsel in Michigan and Illinois, according to a statement from the firm. The AV-rated firm, which includes more than 100 team members, handles all aspects of default servicing, including residential and commercial foreclosures, bankruptcies, landlord tenant, title resolution, home retention services, REO disposition, and litigation.

Local reports indicate investors have been snapping up more foreclosure and REO homes in recent months, and a new industry survey suggests they are poised to become an even bigger presence. According to Move, Inc., real estate investors will be more active in their local markets by a three-to-one margin compared to typical homebuyers over the next 24 months. The company says today's investor doesn't fit the common stereotype. Fifty percent plan to hold their properties for five-plus years, and three-fourths plan to combine cash and credit for a buy.

Fannie Mae has issued a notice to servicers detailing changes to how they should evaluate ""imminent default"" and how they determine the market value of properties for pre-foreclosure sales. The GSE is requiring servicers to apply the imminent default test now used only for HAMP modifications to all non-HAMP mods secured by owner-occupied properties. In addition, Fannie Mae is requiring servicers to use only approved providers for broker price opinions or appraisals on short sales and deeds-in-lieu.

The attorneys general for the states of Illinois and California are casting a wider net in their investigations of faulty foreclosure paperwork, issuing subpoenas against two Florida-based firms that provide mortgage servicing support to lenders and servicers across the country. The state counsels say they have received reports of robo-signing practices on the part of the two firms - LPS and Nationwide Title. Statements from the AGs indicate that the reach of both companies and their extensive client bases have put them on the radar.

Bank of America will leverage the federal government's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) through participation in unemployment assistance programs in all 18 eligible states and the District of Columbia. The HHF targets states with sustained unemployment rates at or above the national average and falling property values. Collectively, state housing finance agencies have about 2,700 applications for unemployment assistance in process for BofA customers and have provided $2.8 million toward mortgage payments for the benefit of more than 700 customers.

Home prices in the U.S. continue to tumble as foreclosures claim a larger share of the market. Residential prices slipped 2.5 percent during the first quarter of this year when compared to the previous quarter, according to a national index calculated using sales prices from mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The index shows prices fell 5.5 percent between the first quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. It's the largest annual drop recorded since the second quarter of 2009.

The Ohio Attorney General's office and Ohio Department of Commerce have announced an assurance of voluntary compliance (AVC) with Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC to resolve a 2009 lawsuit. The AVC will also provide relief to Ohio homeowners facing foreclosure. The three parties agreed to several mortgage servicing standards that will apply to all Ohio loans serviced by Carrington Mortgage Services, including providing borrowers who complete a modification application with a single point of contact.

RealtyTrac has released a new report detailing foreclosure sales activity during the first quarter. Altogether, third parties purchased a total of 158,434 bank-owned and short sale homes during the first three months of this year. That's down 36 percent from a year earlier. At this pace, it would take three years to clear the current inventory of properties already on the banks' books or in foreclosure. REOs sold at an average discount of 35 percent in Q1, while short sale properties carried a mark-down of nearly 9 percent.

GMAC Mortgage said Tuesday that the company has signed contracts with all states participating in the Treasury Department's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF). The HHF program was established to provide targeted aid to homeowners in states hit hard by the economic and housing market downturn, specifically, states where unemployment rates are above 12 percent and home prices have experienced the steepest drops.