Loss Mitigation

The budget resolution approved by Congress to keep the federal government running through September includes a package of cuts to federal agency budgets, one of which is HUD's Housing Counseling Program. In lawmakers' efforts to trim agency expenditures, $88 million slated to fund counseling efforts on foreclosure and reverse mortgages has been zeroed out. A HUD spokesperson described the curtailment as ""painful cuts,"" noting that the program provides grant funding to about 2,000 agencies across the country.

Fannie Mae announced the opening this week of two facilities in Florida to provide free education and counseling services to struggling homeowners - the Tampa Mortgage Help Center and the Jacksonville Mortgage Help Center. Available to borrowers with Fannie Mae loans, the centers offer one-on-one consultations with experienced housing counselors to review mortgage loans and financing options, explain the range of options available, and help borrowers apply for loan workouts and other alternatives to foreclosure.

LCS Financial Services Corporation, a nationwide provider of receivables management for mortgage lenders, announced this week that Jordan Stastny has joined the company as SVP of national sales. In this role, Stastny will develop and execute sales strategies to grow all lines of business within the company. He brings to the company nearly 30 years of experience in new client development, best practices, executive leadership, sales training, and sales management.

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell recently signed legislation to restrict Wall Street home resale fees (also known as ""private transfer fees"") in the state. Virginia is the 24th state to ban the use of these fees. The fees require that a private third-party receive a percentage of the final sale price of a home every time the property is sold, typically for 99 years.

The retrospective foreclosure reviews mandated in the consent orders issued to servicers this week will help regulators evaluate the extent of the problem and determine the amount of monetary fines that should be assessed, according to John Walsh, head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Walsh says in addition to these punitive penalties, servicers will have to absorb ""substantial expense"" to fix their problems and are obligated to provide restitution to borrowers who suffered financial harm ""with no dollar cap.""

Two lawmakers, one Republican and one Democrat, have joined forces to push federal legislation through that would facilitate wider use and shorter transaction timelines for a foreclosure alternative that some say could be a lifeline for millions of underwater homeowners while drastically reducing the number of empty, repossessed homes lining U.S. neighborhoods - the short sale. The bill would impose a deadline of 45 days on lenders to give an approval, disapproval, or status of a decision on an offer for a short sale.

More than 2,000 Texas Realtors descended on the Texas Capitol in Austin April 12 for the 2011 Legislative Hill Visits. The governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the Texas House, and legislators met with the Realtors to discuss a range of consumer-protection legislation, including homeowner rights. Realtors say Texas has withstood the real estate bubble that ravaged the rest of the country largely because state leaders made protection of private-property rights a priority in recent sessions.

JPMorgan Chase reported Wednesday that the company made $5.6 billion during the first quarter of 2011, beating market expectations. But the lender's mortgage business took a significant hit, as related revenue fell 75 percent and costs tied to its servicing and foreclosure operations mounted. The company says ""extraordinarily high losses"" from mortgage-related issues will continue ""for a while,"" but the lender assured investors that it is addressing mistakes from the past.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve, and the Office of Thrift Supervision announced formal enforcement actions Wednesday against 14 mortgage servicers and two firms that provide foreclosure-related services to the industry - LPS and MERS. The consent orders are the result of regulators' investigations into robo-signing allegations and represent a settlement with the firms involved, at least in part. Both the OCC and Fed say they believe monetary sanctions in these cases are also warranted, and they plan to pursue such actions separately.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a settlement this week with two companies and three individuals, who are now banned from the mortgage relief services business and must pay $2.2 million in assets for consumer refunds. The FTC filed the proposed consent order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The move is part of the federal agency's efforts to thwart scams targeting homeowners seeking mortgage relief.