Loss Mitigation

Homeowners who have had mortgage debt forgiven after a foreclosure, modification, or short sale may be able to exclude the canceled debt from their taxable income if they meet specific criteria. According to Gil Charney, principal analyst at The Tax Institute at H&R Block, the specific criteria to have forgiven debt excluded are the debt must have been incurred to buy, build or substantially improve the residence, called ""acquisition debt, and the property must be the taxpayer's primary residence.

HOPE NOW, a private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and non-profit counselors, estimated 45,000 homeowners received permanent, non-HAMP loan modifications from mortgage servicers during February 2012, down from 56,000, or 20 percent, compared to the month before in January. While modifications were down, foreclosure sales and foreclosure starts also declined on a month-over-month basis, with 69,000 foreclosure sales and 167,000 foreclosure starts in February, compared to 79,000 sales, a 12 percent drop, and 200,000 starts, a 17 percent drop, in January.

J.P. Morgan recently announced the issuance of $132 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) backed by non-performing commercial real estate loans. According to the Wall Street Journal, the issuance is first time since the late 1990s. Prior to the securitization, the assets were owned by Rialto Capital Management, a real estate investment management company focused on distressed asset investment, management, and workouts.

For 2011, investment purchases increased significantly, according to data from the National Association of Realtors, and with more individual investors absorbing REO properties, the organization thinks it is time to limit bulk REO sales to large institutions. Investment-home sales increased 64.5 percent last year to 1.23 million, NAR reports. In a letter to federal regulators, NAR urged policymakers and lenders to focus on expanding the availability of financing for qualified homebuyers and investors to reduce the number of REOs on the market.

With numbers from a CoreLogic report revealing 22.8 percent of borrowers are underwater, principal reduction has been eyed as a key solution to keep borrowers in their homes. The Center for American Progress has released a report detailing solutions to the ""moral hazard"" issue. One is to make principal reduction a one-time program open to borrowers already delinquent; another is to open the program only to current borrowers who are at-risk of default; and the third is ""shared appreciation"" modifications.

Consumer spending grew 0.8 percent in February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. The latest numbers are fueling expectations for a stronger first-quarter economic surge than economists had forecast. Consumer spending grew faster than the 0.6 percent market consensus. However, personal income grew just 0.2 percent in February, which was half the growth rate expected by economists. In dollars, spending increased $86 billion in February while income grew $28.2 billion. Consumer spending represents about 70.6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

In 2011, consumers with at least one open bankcard, auto loan, and mortgage are more likely to try and stay current on their car payment then keep up with their monthly house payment or credit card bills, according to a TransUnion study. Consumers have also been more likely to pay for their credit cards before their mortgages for four consecutive years, according to the study. The TransUnion analysis looked at a sample of approximately 4 million consumers in each quarter of 2011 and found that 39.1 percent were delinquent on a mortgage while current on their auto loans and credit cards.

The number of completed foreclosures in February 2012 was down on a monthly basis and slightly on a year-over-year comparison, but overall, foreclosure inventory has decreased compared to a year ago, according to CoreLogic's National Foreclosure report for February. In February 2012, 65,000 completed foreclosures were reported, compared to 66,000 in February 2011, and 71,000 in January 2012. The number of completed foreclosures over 12 months ending in February was 862,000. From the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, CoreLogic estimates 3.4 million completed foreclosures.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 5,000 to 359,000 for the week ended March 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. However, the previous week's report and all data reports back to 2007 - were revised to show a jump for the week ended March 17 to 364,000 instead of the originally reported 348,000.

States and metro areas known for being risky when it comes to mortgage fraud seem to be repeat offenders, according to the 2011 Annual Mortgage Fraud Risk report released by Interthinx. The top six states with the highest levels of mortgage fraud risk in 2010 maintained their spots as the riskiest states into 2011, a trend also seen when looking at data for fraud in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California, Colorado, and Michigan were the six riskiest states for 2011 and 2010.