Government

YouWalkAway.com, a foreclosure agency, conducted a survey of its clients and revealed 78 percent of those who responded said they were walking away from their primary residence. In addition, at least 74 percent of all respondents would be eligible for tax relief through the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. The Mortgage Debt Relief Act allows forgiven debt through a short sale, loan modification, or foreclosure to be excluded as taxable income. ""Had this law not been extended, it could have brought a drastic halt to short sales and had a devastating effect on underwater homeowners,"" said Chad Ruyle, YouWalkAway.com co-founder.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) filed its 10th action against a major Wall Street investment firm--this time, the defendant is JPMorgan Securities. NCUA's suit, which was filed in Federal District Court in Kansas, revolves around mortgage-backed securities (MBS) underwritten and sold by Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu), which was acquired by JPMorgan in 2008 following its collapse.

Bank of America and Fannie Mae reached a $10.3 billion agreement Monday to resolve repurchase claims on loans originated from 2000 through 2008. The agreement also requires BofA to pay the GSE $1.3 billion in compensatory fee obligations. BofA simultaneously announced its intent to sell the servicing rights of 2 million mortgage loans to specialty servicers.

Ten major mortgage servicers reached an agreement with federal regulators to pay more than $8.5 billion over alleged foreclosure abuses, the Federal Reserve announced in a release Monday. The agreement replaces the Independent Foreclosure Review process with a new framework allowing eligible borrowers to receive compensation more quickly. Of the $8.5 billion, $3.3 billion will go toward direct payments to eligible borrowers and $5.2 billion will be used to assist borrowers in other ways, such as through loan modifications.

It may not have been a fiscal cliff, but how about a fiscal mudslide? The deal reached by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and forced down the throats of House Republicans (without involving their leader, Speaker John Boehner) wound up to be a glorified version of kicking the can down the road--a short road, as the next ""crisis"" comes in just two months, when the nation runs up against the debt ceiling. Too many words have already been written about the crises manufactured by setting arbitrary deadlines.

Sperlonga Data and Analytics sent out a release to remind mortgage servicers of a new HUD requirement related to how Federal Housing Administration (FHA) properties with homeowner association (HOA) delinquencies are serviced.

A federal judge in New York has allowed a class action lawsuit against Citibank and MidFirst Bank over force-placed insurance practices to proceed, according to a release from lawfirms representing plaintiffs in the case. The plaintiffs are accusing Citibank and MidFirst Bank of maintaining a policy and practice of force-placing flood insurance above the amounts required by the borrowers' mortgage contracts and federal law. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson with Citibank said, ""We abide by federal guidelines in allowing designated customers time to purchase their own flood insurance before we are required to purchase it on their behalf.""

Despite the steady increase in home prices in 2012, Fitch Ratings says it ""remains cautious"" in its outlook on home values. According to a report from the ratings agency, home prices have risen ""at their greatest pace since 2005,"" but in certain markets, technical factors rather than ""fundamentals"" acted as the driving force behind the price gains over the past few quarters. Fitch explained technical factors such as low mortgage rates, the tight supply of existing homes for sale, and weak levels of new home construction are leading to affordability and driving demand while ""offsetting weak fundamentals.""

The nation’s unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent in December as payrolls increased 155,000, slightly ahead of consensus forecasts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 150,000, slightly higher than the 146,000 increase in payrolls originally reported for November, and that the unemployment rate would remain at November's 7.7 percent.

National Real Estate Information Services (NREIS) is shuttering the doors to its Pittsburgh office in February, according to a Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice posted on the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's website. The February 15 closing will affect 215 employees. NREIS employs more than 1,200 people, according to the company's website.