Foreclosure

Thousands of homeowners across the nation are facing foreclosure, but nearly 2,100 of these troubled borrowers received help through HOPE NOW's homeownership preservation events in Februaary in Sacramento, California and Houston. The workshop in Sacramento, California had 1,200 attendees, and almost 900 families attended the Houston workshop.

Mortgage insurance claims filed by servicers on defaulted loans are showing signs of tapering off, according to data released by the risk analysis and due diligence firm Clayton Holdings. Clayton's analysts attribute the decline to the increase in servicers' foreclosure prevention initiatives and fewer loans moving into REO status. They also noted that mortgage insurance providers are spending more time reviewing individual claims and evaluating servicers' modification decisions for continued insurance coverage.

Riverside, California-based PartnerFirst, LLC, recently announced its partnership with Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based ServiceLink, the national lender platform for Fidelity National Financial. By combining resources, the two companies are aiming to provide a ""one-stop-shop"" solution to national mortgage servicers and homeowners through the ServiceLink Short Sale Agent Network.

The online listing service Homes & Land recently asked thousands of real estate agents for their opinions about their local real estate markets. The company found that only 10 percent believe the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has actually reduced foreclosures. Despite the low enthusiasm about HAMP, overall optimism seems to be improving, with most agents reporting an increase in homebuyer interest, and nearly half of the respondents saying home prices in their markets have bottomed out.

To better market its foreclosure listings, Highlands Ranch, Colorado-based Specialized Asset Management LLC (SAM), a national provider of asset marketing and disposition services to mortgage lenders, servicers, and investors, recently partnered with RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace headquartered in Irvine, California.

Ocwen Financial has one of the industry's most impressive track records when it comes to restructuring loans under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The company is converting trials to permanent mods at a rate that is 10 to 20 times higher than some of the biggest banks, and its re-default rate is under 5 percent. Based on his company's success, Ocwen's president has proposed several changes to improve HAMP, including principal writedowns and requiring underperforming servicers to outsource their HAMP processes.

Loan Resolution Corporation said Wednesday that it is implementing a pre-approved short sale program to help the 8 million homeowners who are currently delinquent on their mortgages. The company says its streamlined process can turn a short sale decision within 48 hours.

Past due loans within commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) rose 23 basis points in February, according to a new report from Trepp LLC. The firm noted that it's the smallest month-to-month rise since September 2009. The brief reprieve is welcome news for an industry struggling with rising defaults and looming loan maturities, but that's tempered by a quick reminder from Trepp that CMBS delinquencies are still setting new records as the highest the industry has seen since the CMBS market took hold.

Countdown To Buy, a next-generation online real estate marketplace based in Bethel, Connecticut, announced Wednesday that it has entered into a new pilot program with a banking institution to offer a sampling of foreclosed properties in Texas.

Data regarding Massachusetts foreclosures in January was mixed, according to the most recent report released Tuesday by The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data in New England. While lenders initiated fewer foreclosures in January, the number of completed foreclosures increased.