Home / News / Loss Mitigation (page 329)

Loss Mitigation

DBRS Sees Increase in Loan Liquidation Timelines

With the deterioration of the U.S. mortgage market, the credit rating agency DBRS has noticed a deep divergence in delinquency, foreclosure, and REO timelines from historical norms. As servicers have stepped up loss mitigation strategies to deal with the increase in delinquent borrowers, some loans have spent a longer-than-usual time in each delinquency bucket. The analysts at DBRS found that non-performing loans now remain in the 90 or more days delinquency column for an average of three to four months before moving to foreclosure.

Read More »

GSEs to Begin Accepting HAFA Short Sales

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both issued new guidelines to servicers Tuesday, which allow homeowners with GSE loans to pursue a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure if they are unable to secure a modification under the government's foreclosure prevention program. GSE loans were oddly excluded from the Treasury's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program when it was rolled out in early April, but by August 1, 2010, all Fannie and Freddie servicers must begin offering HAFA solutions to eligible borrowers.

Read More »

Delinquencies Improving, but Total Distress Remains Elevated: LPS

The number of unpaid mortgages in the United States declined again in April, but delinquency roll rates remain high, according to an industry report released Monday by Lender Processing Services (LPS). The Florida-based analytics firm says that while signs of stabilization in the nation's mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates may be emerging, the progress is largely neutralized by the more than 7 million loans still in distress.

Read More »

FHA’s Delinquency Rate Falls to 8.5%

It looks as though escalating past due mortgages may be a thing of the past for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The federal mortgage insurer's delinquency rate dropped again in April, marking the third straight month of declines. According to FHA's latest operations report, as of April 30, 527,504 mortgages had spent at least 90 days in a delinquent status, yielding a serious default rate of 8.5 percent. That's down from 8.8 percent in March and 9.2 percent in February.

Read More »

HAMP Modifications Have Just a 50% Success Rate: Moody’s

The Treasury's most recent Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) report shows ""extremely low conversion rates,"" with success just a 50/50 gamble, according to Moody's Investors Service. As of the end of April, servicers had converted almost 300,000 permanent modifications. However, they had also canceled 277,640 trial mods. Moody's says this represents approximately a 50 percent success rate. The report also shows 3,744 permanent modifications have been canceled.

Read More »

Ocwen Buys HomEq Servicing for $1.3 Billion

Barclays said Friday that it has agreed to sell HomEq Servicing, its U.S. mortgage servicing business, to Ocwen. Ocwen will pay $1.3 billion ""in cash on completion,"" Barclays said. The transaction aligns the two companies with the highest modification conversion rates under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Treasury's latest HAMP progress report puts both Ocwen and HomEq at the top of the servicer list, having converted 83 percent of their HAMP trials to permanent status.

Read More »

More than Half of Foreclosures Triggered by Job Loss: NeighborWorks

NeighborWorks America reports that 58 percent of homeowners who've received assistance through its foreclosure counseling program say the primary reason they are facing foreclosure is reduced or lost income. The nonprofit says it's time for mortgage servicers and investors to make meaningful accommodations for borrowers facing foreclosure -- or prepare for even more empty homes and devastated neighborhoods.

Read More »

Fannie Mae’s Delinquency Rate Falls for First Time in Three Years

The percentage of past due loans held by the nation's largest mortgage financier has fallen. In its monthly summary report just released, Fannie Mae said the serious delinquency rate on single-family mortgages in its portfolio dropped to 5.47 percent in March, down 12 basis points from 5.59 percent in February. It's the first time the GSE's serious delinquency rate has declined since March 2007, when it was a mere 0.62 percent.

Read More »

Loan Resolution Corp. Names VP of Foreclosure Alternatives

Scottsdale, Arizona-based Loan Resolution Corporation, a pre-foreclosure asset management firm, announced this week that Michelle Carothers has been named VP of foreclosure alternatives. Carothers will be responsible for driving Loan Resolution Corporation's performance related to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.

Read More »

Poor Risk Management, Unrealistic Optimism Collapsed Housing: MBA

It's hard to pinpoint just what brought the nation's thriving residential real estate market to its knees. Everyone's got an opinion, but trying to nail down the exact trigger in order to prevent a sequel is a difficult task. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is attempting to do just that. According to a study released Wednesday by the trade group, it was poor risk management habits, coupled with a short-term focus and unrealistic optimism among senior business managers that brought down the U.S. housing and mortgage markets.

Read More »