Foreclosure

Lenders initiated fewer foreclosures in Massachusetts in May than they did a year ago and in the prior month, according to a new report from the Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate research firm. Foreclosures petitions, which mark the first step of the foreclosure process in the Bay State, fell 9.4 percent from May 2009 and were also down 13.2 percent compared to April 2010. But while new foreclosures subsided last month, the number of completed foreclosures in Massachusetts more than doubled compared to a year earlier.

Foreclosure activity in California is beginning to trend downward. The locally-based tracking firm ForeclosureRadar says its statistics dropped last month for every stage of the foreclosure process, with new defaults down more than 17 percent. It's the second straight month that the company has recorded across-the-board declines. But ForeclosureRadar remains cautious in its analysis, noting that many distressed homeowners have simply vacated the property and thrown in the towel on modifying their loan or completing a short sale.

The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) recently received a program-related investment in the amount of $500,000 from the Meadows Foundation, a private philanthropic institution based in Dallas, Texas. According to TSAHC, this award will support construction financing for the rehabilitation and development of foreclosed and vacant properties purchased through its Affordable Communities of Texas land banking program.

MOS Group, Inc. has expanded its service offerings to include short sales and deeds-in-lieu that comply with the Treasury Department's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program requirements. In order to assist borrowers throughout all phases of this process, MOS Group said it is leveraging its borrower-focused methodology, comprehensive employee training and education program, and highly transparent technology platform.

In an effort to improve the system of maintaining and selling its inventory of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) foreclosed homes, HUD has awarded 55 new contracts - 23 to companies who will serve as asset managers and 32 companies who will serve as field service managers - under the third generation of its management and marketing program, known as M&M III. Currently, HUD's foreclosure inventory amounts to approximately 44,000 homes. The agency says the M&M III program is expected to create 1,200 new jobs nationwide.

Public optimism that a sustainable economic recovery is underway has driven up home prices in many regional markets, according to Fiserv, Inc. The financial services firm released its analysis of home price trends Monday, which showed that by the end of last year, prices were trending up in 40 percent of the 384 metros studied. Fiserv says areas where investors are buying up foreclosures and where the employment outlook is improving are seeing the greatest gains.

The volume of troubled residential properties has been growing since 2005, but Standard & Poor's says regional inventory levels and trends will determine the detriment of this shadow supply. In the New York City metro area, for example, the company estimates that it will take 103 months for shadow inventory to clear, assuming current liquidation rates. That's nearly 3.5 times the national average of 34 months. By contrast, the Phoenix area has the lowest level of shadow inventory, at 16 months.

In a ruling handed down Friday afternoon, Judge Clark Waddoups of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah sided with Bank of America and overturned a Utah county judge's earlier decision that barred the nation's largest mortgage servicer from carrying out foreclosure sales in the state. Waddoups issued a court order that stated: ""The preliminary injunction of May 22, 2010 issued by the Utah state court is hereby DISSOLVED in its entirety.""

With short sales on the rise, mortgage fraud scams involving these transactions may be following the same trend. In fact, two former Connecticut real estate agents, Sergio Natera and Anna McElaney, recently pled guilty to bank fraud stemming from their involvement in a short sale mortgage fraud scheme. According to court documents, Natera and McElaney worked together to defraud various banks, including Regions Bank, Wells Fargo, and other financial institutions by means of ""materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.""

Chase loan advisors are setting up shop in downtown Atlanta for five days to help struggling borrowers work out a plan to save their homes. The company says 90 Chase loan counselors will be on hand to assist borrowers with loans modifications or short sales.