Foreclosure

Retreat Capital Management Group, a Lake Forest, California-based provider of loss mitigation and portfolio management products for the mortgage industry, announced Thursday that it has deployed AnswerMine Group's analytic software to power its predictive modeling services for mortgage lenders and servicers.

A new poll by market research firm Harris Interactive found that 24 percent of people with mortgages believe they owe more on the loan than their homes are worth. The U.S. Treasury recently announced changes to its foreclosure prevention program to include mortgage relief for underwater borrowers, but some worry the help may be too little too late since it will likely be fall before this assistance is available. Harris says nearly half of the borrowers who believe they are underwater are already having difficulty making their payments.

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) surged above 7 percent in March, according to reports recently released by Trepp LLC and Fitch Ratings. According to Trepp the percentage of loans 30 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or REO jumped 89 basis points in March to 7.61 percent -- the highest monthly increase since the summer of 2009. Fitch reported the same upward trend, saying CMBS delinquencies soared 85 basis points in March to 7.14 percent.

New data from Clear Capital shows that U.S. quarter-over-quarter home prices in March dipped 3.9 percent, the first decline recorded by the company in nine months. The asset valuation firm's report says that the national quarterly downturn limited year-over-year gains to 5.1 percent, while REO saturation rates continued last month's trend, rising to 28.9 percent. Clear Capital says the numbers reflect the fragile and volatile state of many housing markets and could signal a trend to renewed price lows for some areas.

HOPE LoanPort, a new tool developed by HOPE NOW that streamlines loan modification applications on behalf of borrowers facing foreclosure, announced today that Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta (CCCS Atlanta), with 30 offices in four states, will join the more than 100 counseling agencies already committed to the Web portal.

In a 7-1 vote, the California Senate Banking, Finance, and Insurance Committee approved a measure that would better protect homeowners in the Golden State who are at risk of foreclosure. SB 1275: Homeowners Bill of Rights contains two major provisions. It would require all mortgage servicers doing business in the state to evaluate delinquent borrowers for a modification before proceeding with foreclosure, and if a servicer fails to do so, it would give the homeowner the right to bring an action to either void the foreclosure or recoup damages.

Distressed properties, including short sales and REOs, accounted for 29 percent of all home sales in the United States in January, according to new data released Thursday by First American CoreLogic. The company says it's the highest level of distressed transactions since April 2009. Among the largest markets, Riverside, California had the highest percentage of distressed sales at 62 percent, followed closely by Las Vegas, with 59 percent, and Sacramento with 58 percent.

USFN, America's Mortgage Banking Attorneys, recently hosted its first Loan Management & Servicing Seminar of 2010. Close to 400 attendees gathered at the Omni Mandalay at Las Colinas hotel in Dallas March 17-19 to participate in the event. The seminar featured more than 20 informative sessions, open roundtable discussions, and timely forums that covered increasingly hot topics in the industry.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said Thursday that it is ending its lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank alleging violations of the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts and racial discrimination. Wells Fargo has invited the NAACP to review its lending practices and make recommendations to further improve credit availability to African Americans and assist borrowers facing foreclosures. The NAACP remains in litigation with 14 other financial institutions.

The administration's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program hasn't even been in effect for a full week, and positive feedback is already coming in. Loan Resolution Corporation, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based pre-foreclosure asset manager that acts as a vendor for banks implementing HAFA, said it expects a tremendous surge in short sales to accompany the recent implementation of this new program.