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A 46-year-old Florida builder convicted of bank fraud, money laundering, and identity theft tied to three different banks and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds was sentenced on January 16 to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay back more than $3.7 million. Lawrence Allen Wright, of Niceville, pleaded guilty to seven charges, among them, conspiracy to commit money laundering and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution.

Single-family and condominium sales in California closed 2013 on a cautiously positive note, even though overall sales were down notably from the year prior, according to the latest quarterly market report from PropertyRadar. December sales in the Golden State's home and condo market grew 1.4 percent over November 2013 sales, but were down nearly 20 percent from December 2012. Overall, last year’s property sales finished the year at their lowest level since 2007.

  Select Print Feature, originally appeared in the May, 2013 issue of DS News Magazine. Can servicers and their partners in the field work through the many obstacles that come with fast-tracking vacant foreclosures? Several jurisdictions are considering legislation or ...

Special Print Feature, originally appeared in the August 2013 issue of DS News Magazine. By Steve Albert, Ernie Durbin, and Tami Rund Without question, accurate valuation data is critical to your business, but how do you determine which method to use for ...

Two former Miami real estate agents were sentenced Thursday for their roles in a $2.4 million mortgage fraud scheme. The Justice Department announced that Jose Filgueiras, 43, was found guilty of three counts of bank fraud. He was sentenced by a U.S. district judge to serve 57 months in prison. His wife, Raquel Filgueiras, 39, was found guilty of one count of bank fraud and sentenced to 30 months in prison.

December's discouraging jobs report caused mortgage rates to pull back once again this week. Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage falling 10 basis points to an average rate of 4.41 percent. Similarly, the 15-year rate fell 9 basis points. Bankrate also reported declines, with both the 30-year and 15-year average fixed-rates down 7 basis points to 4.57 percent and 3.62 percent, respectively.

DataQuick announced the addition of major enhancements to its automated property valuation model (AVM), CMV-Portfolio. The upgrade builds on CMV-Portfolio's submodel system, which features different models using their own methodologies and data sources to estimate property values.

While there may be some long-term side effects of the recent financial crisis, the economy will return to its pre-crisis growth path eventually, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told an audience at the Brookings Institution Thursday. He defended the Fed's quantitative easing and forward guidance as being """"at least somewhat effective"""" and touted the one positive impact of the crisis: reformation of the financial regulatory system.

With the lingering effects of the housing crisis, many homeowners still find themselves in need of assistance for home-related services or other basic requirements. MortgageKeeper Renewal Services recently issued its 2013 Homeowner Needs Status report and found that homeowners received 1,223,000 referrals from the company's products last year.

The overall outlook for the 2014 economy in the United States is optimistic, but guarded, according to Dr. Lynn Reaser, chief economist at the Fermanian Business & Economic Institute in San Diego. Although her forecast is more optimistic than in past years, Reaser discussed many areas of risk, including the expanding federal deficit. """"There is no text book on unwinding a $4 trillion balance sheet; it's simply never been done,"""" Reaser said.