Foreclosure

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller on Monday filed a petition asking the Indiana Supreme Court to impose new procedures for foreclosures filed in the state. Zoeller says with some mortgage lenders trying to foreclose on distressed homeowners by filing court documents that are unverified, unauthenticated, or riddled with errors, Indiana is not going to wait for the federal government to take action to ensure borrowers' rights are protected.

Fannie Mae will utilize eMASON's Web-based Clarifire application to comply with the foreclosure pre-filing mediation process mandated by the Florida Supreme Court. Issued in December 2009, the statewide mediation program aims to open up communication between lenders and distressed borrowers prior to foreclosure proceedings. eMASON says Clarifire works to improve the prospect and cycle times associated with assisting borrowers by offering mediation and related workout options early in the loan's delinquency.

New data from federal regulators show that the nation's largest banks and thrifts repossessed nearly 187,000 homes during the third quarter of 2010. The number of foreclosures completed during the three-month period is up 57.5 percent from a year earlier. The report shows that new foreclosures initiated also rose to more than 382,000. Although foreclosure activity increased during the quarter, servicers reported almost twice as many home retention actions as completed home forfeiture actions.

The Obama Administration announced on Thursday a round of grants totaling nearly $73 million to more than 500 national, regional, and local organizations to provide housing counseling services. Agencies receiving the grants will focus on helping homebuyers and homeowners understand their financing and down payment options, and will help combat predatory lending by assisting borrowers with reviews of loan documentation. The new round of grants represent a 22 percent increase over last year's funding.

A report from Fitch Ratings paints a negative picture for the Title Insurance Industry in 2011. According to the report, the title insurance market is severely affected by the current state of the economy, most notably the sharp decline in real estate and mortgage activity. According to the report, the title insurance market is severely affected by the current state of the economy, most notably the sharp decline in real estate and mortgage activity.

The annual consumer credit forecast from U.S. credit bureau TransUnion foretells a 20 percent drop in national mortgage loan delinquencies by the end of 2011. TransUnion predicts that the number of delinquent accounts -- 60 or more days past due -- will drop to 4.98 percent from an expected 6.21 percent at the conclusion of 2010. The company anticipates at least double-digit declines in mortgage delinquencies in every state and the District of Columbia through 2011.

Moody's recently published 2011 Mortgage Servicers Outlook predicts more troubles ahead for servicers regarding foreclosure practices and documentation. The agency says more scrutiny of procedural irregularities could allow for definition of just how bad things are, but the added scrutiny could also lead to the discovery of even more problems with foreclosure practices. Moody's says foreclosure flaws will add at least three months to the timeline it takes to foreclose on properties.

The government's key foreclosure prevention program has put 504,648 distressed homeowners into permanently modified loans since its launch in March 2009. Treasury released new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, and in addition to crossing the 500K threshold, the data show that servicers stepped up their use of the program. Permanent modifications in November rose 26 percent compared to October, and 20 percent more trial mods were started.

After reviewing a report and recommendations presented to him, New Jersey Chief Justice Stuart Rabner announced on Monday a series of steps to protect the integrity of foreclosure filings in the state. The report featured a review of robo-signing irregularities by mortgage lenders and servicers and included analysis of actions other states had taken.

Wells Fargo has reached an agreement with California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., to provide loan modifications worth more than $2 billion to an estimated 14,900 California homeowners with pick-a-pay loans originated by World Savings and Wachovia, banks Wells Fargo acquired. Wells Fargo will also pay an additional $32 million to thousands of borrowers who lost their homes through foreclosure. The bank says the majority of Wachovia's Pick-a-Payment customers reside in California.