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Foreclosure

California AG Shuts Down Foreclosure Relief Companies

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. forced two foreclosure rescue firms to close their doors this week and secured a court judgment that prohibits the three principal individuals involved from ever again working in the real estate industry. Brown also recovered more than $1 million in restitution for victims he says were left with ""false hope"" after paying upfront fees for loan modification services that were never delivered.

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Inspector General Concludes HAMP Goals Are Inflated

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) will fall far short of the administration's promise to prevent foreclosure for 3 to 4 million homeowners, according to one federal watchdog. Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, says HAMP's disappointing results have raised questions about the program's effectiveness. He's determined that Treasury has set targets that aren't ""meaningful"" and that HAMP is ""particularly vulnerable to re-defaults.""

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Homeowners Sue BofA for Failing to Permanently Modify Loans

Homeowners in Washington are suing Bank of America, alleging the nation's largest lender is intentionally thwarting borrowers' requests to make loan modifications that would prevent homes from being foreclosed. As of the end of February, Bank of America had permanently modified nearly 21,000 mortgages under the Home Affordable Modification Program. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the suit say BofA has made an affirmative decision to slow the loan modification process for reasons that are solely in the bank's financial interest.

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LAMCO Ramps up Short Sale Services in Preparation for HAFA

On Tuesday, Lenders Asset Management Corporation (LAMCO) announced the company's approach to help mortgage servicers fully comply with the federal government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program, set to take effect April 5. In efforts to respond in a timely fashion to the inevitable influx of short sale requests expected as a result of HAFA, LAMCO says it is prepared to execute accelerated short sale transactions through its quality management system.

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Nearly Half of Home Purchases Are Distressed Properties: Survey

The share of home purchase transactions involving distressed properties surged to almost half in February, according to an industry survey released Monday. Last month distressed properties - those involving homes acquired as part of a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure sale - accounted for 48.1 percent of the home purchase transactions tracked by the survey. It was the highest distressed property market share seen since last July, with short sales accounting for the largest percentage of transactions.

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First ‘ROOF’ Agreement Signed

The first Retaining Occupancy on Foreclosure (ROOF) Agreement was recently signed in the city of Detroit. Created to help combat the blight problems in Detroit by cutting down on the number of homes left vacant after foreclosure, the goal of the program is to salvage Detroit neighborhoods and greatly reduce the number of vacant homes by keeping foreclosed homes occupied by either the owner or tenant until the property is sold at an REO sale.

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Fannie Mae Introduces Alternative HAMP Modification

Servicers are working faster and more diligently to convert trial modifications to permanent status under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). But the bitter truth is that some homeowners won't qualify for long-term relief even after making their trial payments. To offer these homeowners another option, Fannie Mae is instituting the ""Alternative Modification"" (Alt Mod) and requiring all its servicers to evaluate a borrower for the new solution before proceeding with foreclosure.

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CBO Expects Treasury to Use Just $20B of TARP to Mitigate Foreclosures

The Treasury has committed $50 billion of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to pay servicers for helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. New estimates released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that the administration is expected to use no more than $20 billion for servicer incentives when all is said and done - indicating that HAMP will help far fewer distressed homeowners than originally promised.

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