Loss Mitigation

The number of short sales has more than tripled since 2008, with the estimated annual volume now at 400,000, according to CoreLogic. The company says the hard-hit markets of California, Florida, and Arizona, along with Texas, account for more than half of all short sales. But as with any modus operandi that rapidly picks up steam, this proliferation can open the gate for fraud. Lenders' losses resulting from preventable short sale fraud are estimated to be as high as $310 million by the end of this year, CoreLogic says.

Zenta, a Charlotte, North Carolina based residential mortgage fulfillment outsourcing service provider, announced it has immediate openings for more than 100 full time employees in their office in Charlotte. Positions are currently available for operations managers and team leaders, underwriters, senior processors and professionals with related mortgage experience.

Could the U.S. economy slip back into the throes of the recession that nearly crippled the nation's financial system and protracted any semblance of a housing recovery? The analysts at Moody's think so. They say the odds of a near-term double-dip recession have increased to one in four. And they warn that if the economy sinks back into recession, housing activity will follow. If such a scenario were to play out, Moody's says home prices are likely to fall by another 20 percent before they stabilize in early 2012.

A former Fannie Mae VP has gone public with accusations that the nation's largest mortgage company mishandled its stewardship of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The whistleblower claims that HAMP was impeded by intentional delays and slip-ups because Fannie executives placed their institution's short-term financial interests above helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. A spokesperson for Fannie Mae told DSNews.com that there is ""no merit to [the] allegations.""

Fannie Mae says it is retiring one of its foreclosure prevention options. The GSE's HomeSaver Advance (HSA) program will be taken off the table on September 30. Fannie explained that HSA volume has shrunk significantly as other foreclosure prevention workouts, particularly modifications, have increased. Under the program, servicers were allowed to extend unsecured personal loans to delinquent homeowners to cure arrearages, but as housing and economic woes have worsened, such a short-term fix has not been enough to keep borrowers current.

Nearly a quarter of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage owe more on the loan than their home is worth, and home prices are threatening to fall further. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), though, is throwing out a lifeline. Starting September 7, the federal agency will offer new FHA-insured mortgages to certain underwater, non-FHA borrowers who are current on their mortgage payments and whose lenders agree to write off at least 10 percent of the unpaid principal balance.

Fannie Mae's second-quarter losses narrowed considerably from the demoralizing financials of the past several years that found the nation's largest mortgage financier underwater itself in a sea of red ink. The GSE reported Thursday that it lost $1.2 billion last quarter. It was Fannie's smallest loss in more than three years. The company also said it needs far less money from taxpayers this quarter - $1.5 billion. The company acquired 68,838 single-family REOs through foreclosure in Q2, and its seriously delinquent rate dropped to 4.99 percent.

Dimont & Associates, a national claims management company headquartered, has engaged the services of mortgage industry veteran Joe McCloskey. The company says through this agreement, McCloskey will be assisting Dimont with its overall strategic growth initiatives, including strengthening the company's business practices and expanding its business services lines.

The volume of commercial real estate assets with outstanding distress grew by $6.3 billion in June, but it was the smallest monthly increase since late 2008, according to the research firm Real Capital Analytics. While the slow-down in the growth rate can be attributed in part to the lack of large portfolios to fall into trouble during the month, the analysts at Real Capital say they are also seeing a marked increase in workout activity by lenders.

State housing finance agencies in North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina have been given the green light to use $600 million in federal funding to implement their own foreclosure prevention programs. These five states were designated as some of the nation's hardest-hit housing markets because of high unemployment -- local rates above 12 percent -- and concentrated areas of severe economic distress. The Treasury says another round of state grants is in the works, with $2 billion more allocated for local housing programs.