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Loss Mitigation

Recovery for U.S. Bank Loan Delinquencies Stalls: Trepp

The recovery in delinquency rates that began in the second quarter of 2010 appears to have stalled, according to the research firm Trepp LLC. Based on earnings reports and call report filings from banks, Trepp is offering its preliminary estimates of delinquency data for the first quarter, ahead of official numbers to be released by banking regulators in a few weeks. For first-lien single-family mortgages, the company is forecasting a total delinquency rate of 12.7 percent, down only slightly from 12.8 percent the previous quarter.

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Wingspan Bolsters Audit Services to Help Clients Satisfy Consent Orders

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a specialty and component mortgage servicer, added 100 employees in the past 60 days to help servicers stay compliant with the interagency review issued this month by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Two key enforcement actions were included in the consent orders for each servicer examined -- the hiring of an an independent consultant to review residential foreclosure actions from 2009 and 2010, and an expert assessment of risks in servicing operations.

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Equator Platform Sees 675,000 Short Sale Initiations

Equator reports that over 675,000 short sales have been initiated on its platform since the short sale capabilities were launched in November 2009. The company's short sale technology module connects lenders, homeowners, and their selling agents in order to streamline the approval process for transactions. The company also reported that more than 50 percent of all short sale closings under the federal government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program have taken place on its platform.

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Applications Flood Florida Program for Unemployed Homeowners

In just one week's time, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation has received nearly 9,500 applications from unemployed homeowners seeking financial assistance through the state's Hardest-Hit Fund (HHF) program. Following a successful six-month pilot run in Lee County, the state housing agency launched the program statewide on April 18, making it available to troubled homeowners in all 67 counties. Florida has received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Treasury to fund the program.

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Freddie Mac’s Delinquencies Decline for Fourth Straight Month

The percentage of home loans going unpaid is steadily declining for the nation's second largest mortgage company. Freddie Mac reported Tuesday that its single-family seriously delinquent rate decreased to 3.63 percent in March. That's down 15 basis points from 3.78 percent in February, and the fourth consecutive month that the rate has headed south. With only a few intermittent blips upward over the last year, Freddie has recorded a drop in its seriously delinquent rate in nine of the past 12 months.

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Study Finds Counseling Increases Chances for Loan Modification

Homeowners who participate in default counseling are more likely to have their loans modified, according to a study from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Policymakers have increasingly turned to education and counseling to remedy problems that impede borrowers' ability to make their mortgage payments, but the trade group's report comes on the heels of federal budget cuts that have eliminated $88 million to fund HUD's counseling program.

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The Loan Post Launches E-Signature Short Sale Technology

The Loan Post, Inc. has introduced a new do-it-yourself private label short sales system. ShortSales360 produces e-signature-ready documents for the federal Home Affordable Foreclosures Alternatives (HAFA) short sale initiative. It also calculates probable lender losses if a foreclosure is executed and the net investor benefit in a short sale transaction, so lenders and investors can determine if a short sale makes financial sense.

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NeighborWorks Receives $2M from Bank of America

NeighborWorks America has received a $2 million grant from Bank of America to support the organization's foreclosure counseling efforts and fund training for local nonprofit professionals. NeighborWorks says the funding will help its network of community-based counselors create and preserve homeownership assets for 250,000 families.

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FICO Profiles the Strategic Defaulter

As home prices began heading further and further south, the term ""strategic default"" made its way into industry jargon...and into the minds of lending and servicing professionals already struggling to keep up with large volumes of borrowers who actually can't afford their mortgage payments. It's a fairly new phenomenon that the industry agrees needs addressing, but the problem is, how do you pinpoint a strategic defaulter? The credit assessment firm FICO says it's developed a method, using consumer behavior analytics, that will allow lenders to identify borrowers who might walk away.

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Idaho Legislation Places New Requirements on Lenders

Under a new Idaho state law, lenders must respond to requests for loan modification within 45 days and cannot proceed to a foreclosure sale until after responding to the request. House Bill 331, which takes effect September 1, also stipulates that lenders must meet in person or over the phone with the borrower if the borrower requests it. In addition, new documentation requirements and borrower contact parameters have been put in place.

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