Loss Mitigation

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. forced two foreclosure rescue firms to close their doors this week and secured a court judgment that prohibits the three principal individuals involved from ever again working in the real estate industry. Brown also recovered more than $1 million in restitution for victims he says were left with ""false hope"" after paying upfront fees for loan modification services that were never delivered.

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) will fall far short of the administration's promise to prevent foreclosure for 3 to 4 million homeowners, according to one federal watchdog. Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, says HAMP's disappointing results have raised questions about the program's effectiveness. He's determined that Treasury has set targets that aren't ""meaningful"" and that HAMP is ""particularly vulnerable to re-defaults.""

MFS Supply LLC, an Ohio-based company that provides locks, lock boxes, and property management supplies to those in the real estate and general contractor industry, has opened a 10,500 square foot warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, California. The company says its new distribution center will greatly decrease ground shipping time and cost to West Coast customers. MFS is also offering free shipping on certain orders.

In an effort to encourage greater homeowner participation in modification programs, Bank of America has launched a new approach to modify severely underwater loans. The bank announced Wednesday that it will first look at principal forgiveness -- ahead of an interest rate reduction -- when modifying certain subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). BofA expects to slice off an estimated $3 billion from loan balances through this initiative.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) said Monday that it is closing down its operations. The organization's board, over the weekend, decided to dismantle the 40-year old grassroots activist group. ACORN's exit comes after Congress cut off the organization's federal funding and it began to experience trouble raising funds and donations, following a widely publicized scandal involving members posing as pimps and prostitutes, hidden cameras, and questionable ""advocacy.""

Homeowners in Washington are suing Bank of America, alleging the nation's largest lender is intentionally thwarting borrowers' requests to make loan modifications that would prevent homes from being foreclosed. As of the end of February, Bank of America had permanently modified nearly 21,000 mortgages under the Home Affordable Modification Program. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the suit say BofA has made an affirmative decision to slow the loan modification process for reasons that are solely in the bank's financial interest.

On Tuesday, Lenders Asset Management Corporation (LAMCO) announced the company's approach to help mortgage servicers fully comply with the federal government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program, set to take effect April 5. In efforts to respond in a timely fashion to the inevitable influx of short sale requests expected as a result of HAFA, LAMCO says it is prepared to execute accelerated short sale transactions through its quality management system.

Chase announced Monday that it will provide additional help to struggling homeowners by joining the second-lien program under the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Known as 2MP, the second-lien modification program is designed to work in tandem with HAMP to lower homeowners' payments on both their first and second mortgages. Qualified homeowners may see the interest rate on their second lien reduced to as low as 1 percent for five years.

The Federal Housing Administration has come under fire for the growing number of delinquencies in its portfolio, with some economists and industry observers even predicting that a bailout of the federal mortgage insurer is in the cards. But according to the agency's latest operations report it's beginning to see some improvements in the seriously delinquent column. While still considerably elevated, the rate of loans 90 or more days overdue in FHA's portfolio dropped to 9.2 percent in February, down from a reading of 9.4 percent for the month of January.

The share of home purchase transactions involving distressed properties surged to almost half in February, according to an industry survey released Monday. Last month distressed properties - those involving homes acquired as part of a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure sale - accounted for 48.1 percent of the home purchase transactions tracked by the survey. It was the highest distressed property market share seen since last July, with short sales accounting for the largest percentage of transactions.