Foreclosure

According to the New York State Banking Department, more than 76,000 New York homeowners have received 90-day pre-foreclosure notices since May 31, and a total of 134,000 pre-foreclosure notices have been sent to those who have fallen behind on mortgage payments since data collection began in February. The banking department says it is working with 10 non-profit housing counseling agencies throughout the state, which use the data to target their services to those homeowners most at-risk.

Evidence of major servicers mishandling foreclosure paperwork has cast a cloud of doubt over the entire industry and servicing procedures across the board. Consumer advocacy groups and a number of state attorneys general have demanded a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures. But two senior White House officials have indicated that the Obama administration will not support an all-out foreclosure freeze. So far, five companies have announced voluntary foreclosure suspensions because of potential deficiencies in the legal paperwork.

Litton Loan Servicing LP, the Houston-based mortgage servicing unit of Goldman Sachs has joined the ranks of mortgage firms issuing a voluntarily foreclosure moratorium. The company has declined to release details of which states the suspension encompasses or how many loans it might affect.

Visionary Apps LLC recently announced the third release of its suite of real estate-related smart phone applications. The company says the new suite puts detailed information on new foreclosures in the palm of homebuyers' hands. Complete Realty Suite apps include millions of listings nationwide from multiple sources, including MLS listings.

The housing crisis has brought with it a barrage of lawsuits, many of which are taking direct aim at the practices of default servicing firms. One such case filed in a U.S. bankruptcy court in Mississippi names Prommis Solutions and the default services arm of Lender Processing Services (LPS) as defendants. The lawsuit alleges the firms are taking part in a fee-splitting arrangement for services provided to mortgage lenders through LPS' attorney network. Both companies are standing their ground that the case lacks merit and misrepresents their services.

PNC Financial Services Group is the fourth large lender to suspend foreclosures within the past three weeks because of potential deficiencies in the legal paperwork. The bank has reportedly notified its industry partners that it is holding up sales of foreclosed homes in judicial states for 30 days while the company reviews its internal servicing procedures.

It's no secret that the housing market in Southern Florida is bleak, but a new report from Condo Vultures, LCC reveals that things are looking up for the Sunshine State. The locally based tracking firm says lenders filed foreclosure actions on $3.5 billion in outstanding loans in South Florida during the third quarter, which is a 38 percent decrease compared to a year earlier. According to Condo Vultures, it looks as if 2009 could turn out to be the worst year for foreclosures in South Florida.

Home value depreciation remained steady in August after improvement stalled in July, according to a new report released by Zillow Friday. The company's market data shows that nationally, home values fell 0.3 percent between July and August and declined 3.8 percent from their year-ago levels. According to Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist, the data clearly illustrates that a bottom in national home values has not yet been hit and will come later this year or in the beginning of 2011 at the earliest.

To help counter the effects of the still-deteriorating job market on the housing industry, the Dodd-Frank Reform Act provided $1 billion to HUD to implement the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program. The initiative provides eligible borrowers in 32 states and Puerto Rico with a ""bridge loan"" to continue making their mortgage payments for up to 24 months. HUD expects to begin taking applications from borrowers for assistance by the end of the year.

RealtyTrac introduced on Thursday a new feature on its Web site for its subscribers. The site, which is an online marketplace of foreclosure properties will now offer a recently sold feature on its page, that will allow subscribers to see details about all properties sold in the past three, six, and nine months for an area.