News

The office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be committing up to $40 million to aid organizations that work through the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) to provide housing counseling and legal services to struggling homeowners, Schneiderman announced on Monday.

Declines were recorded in both component indices: The group's gauge of current economic conditions fell to 89.4 from 93.9, while the index measuring consumers' outlook fell to 83.7 from 93.1.

Mortgage Contracting Services, LLC (MCS), a nationwide provider of property preservation, inspections and REO property maintenance to the financial services industry, announced today that it has broadened its client offerings to include appraisals, Broker Price Opinions, and other valuations-related products through its acquisition of the Collateral Solutions and Field Services business units of Irvine, California-based CoreLogic. The acquisition expands the MCS suite of mortgage services to include valuation products in both the default and loan origination sectors and also represents a significant expansion of its already strong representation in the property preservation industry.

For the first time since the new mortgage servicing rules went into effect in January 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enforced the rules, handing down a $37.5 million fine on Monday to Michigan-based bank Flagstar for illegally blocking foreclosure prevention.

Eight states reported a median sales price for distressed homes at less than half the sales price of non-distressed homes in August, according to a report recently released by RealtyTrac.

Single-family home sales declined in Connecticut by nearly 6 percent year-over-year in August, according to the Warren Group, publisher of the Commercial Record.

News Corp, one of the world's biggest mass media companies, is buying online real estate firm Move, Inc., in a $950 million cash deal.

Maryland-based real estate law firm Rosenberg & Associates has added two new attorneys, Jullie Evasco and Jennifer Rochino.

Government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae recently confirmed two high-level personnel changes within the organization.

In a recent release, the agency reported a combined total of 119,699 refinances were completed at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in July, slightly down from the figure reported for June. While low compared to the boom in recent years, refinance volumes over the last few months have shown more life than earlier this year as mortgage interest rates have hovered in the low 4.0 percent range.