Foreclosure

HOPE LoanPort, the new Web-based housing counselor tool that streamlines the submission of completed loan modification applications, has inked commitments from Bayview Loan Servicing and Ocwen Loan Servicing.

Wells Fargo & Co. said it initiated or completed three modifications for every one foreclosure sale on owner-occupied properties from October 2009 through March 2010. As of March 31, the lender had 523,336 active trial and completed modifications through its own modification programs and the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

In a glimmer of hope for the commercial real estate market, the office sector may be nearing stabilization, according to the First Quarter 2010 National Office Trends Report released Wednesday by Cassidy Turley, a St. Louis-based commercial real estate service provider.

RealtyTrac reported Thursday that foreclosure filings were brought against nearly one million properties during the first three months of 2010. That's a seven percent increase from the previous quarter, and equates to one in every 138 homes in the United States. RealtyTrac noted, though, that bank repossessions were the highest the company has every documented - perhaps evidence that lenders are starting to make a dent in the backlog of distressed inventory that has built up over the last year.

Two government programs that extend new options to homeowners who are unable to make their mortgage payments will lean even more heavily upon field service firms, according to National Creditors Connection Inc. (NCCI). The California-based company says the role of these field service providers will expand from basic borrower contact to a targeted evaluation of a borrower's financial condition.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has been the target of some heavy criticism, with naysayers taking aim at everything from the program's slow progress to servicers' lack of capacity to handle large-volume modification work. The latest numbers may be more fodder for the fire. Treasury's HAMP report card shows 230,801 homeowners have been granted permanent modifications under the program, and the number of permanently modified loans to re-default has nearly doubled in one month's time.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released its Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report, detailing the actions the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) have taken to prevent foreclosures and keep people in their home. The findings were positive, showing notable improvements across the board.

Integrated Asset Services, LLC (IAS) said Tuesday that its benchmark for national house prices fell 0.6 percent in February. The drop marked the seventh straight monthly decline reported by the collateral valuation firm and pushed its home price gauge to April 2004 levels. IAS says that by now, the normal seasonal upturn should have begun, but the company isn't seeing the typical forces at work.

Political pressure is growing for lenders to cut mortgage principal. Executives from the nation's four largest banks pushed back against that pressure Tuesday, arguing to lawmakers that a large-scale principal forgiveness program could have dire ramifications for the future of housing finance. It's estimated that some 11 million borrowers owe more on the mortgage than their home is worth. JPMorgan Chase projects it would cost $700 billion to $900 billion to bring these underwater borrowers ""even.""

A newly enacted California law provides a tax break to borrowers whose mortgage debt was forgiven through a foreclosure, short sale, or loan modification. The bill landed on Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk and he inked his approval just days before the April 15th tax deadline. The state's Franchise Tax Board says the new provision will cost California about $34 million in tax revenue, but will provide relief to approximately 100,000 borrowers in the hard-hit state.