News

As a part of ongoing legal proceedings, the office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that Brian Kelly was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for his participation in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme.

Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA (WWR) announced that Scott Fink is the new business unit leader of WWR’s Bankruptcy Practice Group. Fink has been an attorney for more than 17 years, handling bankruptcy matters with WWR for more than 9 years.

Findings from a review done on foreclosures by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that errors made by banks might have been much higher than believed. In September 2010, amid allegations of inappropriately signed documents, federal coordinators began on-site reviews of servicers to evaluate foreclosure processes.

Mortgage Contracting Services' (MCS) CEO Caroline Reaves and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced Tuesday the company will create 90 new jobs in Ruston, Louisiana while doubling the size of its business process outsourcing center to more than 20,000 feet.

CoreLogic's latest National Foreclosure Report, utilizing data through March 2014, found that foreclosure inventory is down 5.1 percent from February. The percentage of homes seriously delinquent on their mortgages fell as well to 4.7 percent, the first time the seriously delinquent rate has been this low since October 2008.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, considered one of the preeminent measures among home price indicators, shows prices among 20 of the nation's biggest markets grew 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, matching January's rate of growth. Unadjusted, the index was unchanged month-over-month, though even that was an improvement over a 0.1 percent drop to start the year.

According to the Fastest Markets Report issued by Redfin, homes are "flying off the market" in many places, such as San Francisco, California; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C. The report notes that although homes are selling faster, fewer total homes are selling. Inventory has risen in these metros, but prices are holding buyers back.

Freddie Mac announced a new offering of Structured Pass-Through Certificates (K Certificates). The offering is backed primarily by fixed-rate multifamily mortgages with a 7-year term. "The company expects to offer approximately $1.2 billion in K Certificates (K-715 Certificates)," the company said.

Aspen Contracting announced recently it has hired Douglas G. Dennison as VP of Business Development. Dennison will continue Aspen Contracting's efforts to increase business throughout the United States.

A new report from Freddie Mac, the GSE’s latest monthly volume summary, found that the company’s mortgage portfolio has declined in each of the first three months of this year. The decline in March was the fastest annualized decline, and saw the total portfolio volume fall at a rate of 2.9 percent.