The Cogsville Group, LLC picked up 94 Fannie Mae foreclosures in Chicago through the Federal Housing Finance Agency's REO Initiative. The Cogsville Group is a private equity firm based in New York with a focus on distressed sales. The FHFA said in a release that all properties purchased through the program were sold near or above market value. The 94 properties sold included 111 units, 68 of which were occupied. FHFA also stated Fannie Mae will continue with bulk sales in markets with a strong demand for rental housing and a surplus of REO properties.
Read More »Mortgage-Related Business Closings Drop Off in Q3: Report
Mortgage-related business closings and failures are on track to post fewer incidences in 2012 than any year since the mortgage crisis began. In the third quarter, 17 mortgage-related businesses failed, down from 25 in the previous quarter and 31 in the same quarter last year, according to a report released by Mortgage Daily. Bank failures have been on the decline for the past four consecutive quarters.
Read More »CoreLogic: Home Prices Sustain Recovery with 4.6% Yearly Gain
Home prices continued to trend upwards in August, posting both yearly and monthly gains for the sixth consecutive month, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. When including distressed sales, home prices in August rose 4.6 percent from a year ago, marking the biggest yearly gain since July 2006. Month-over-month, prices were up 0.3 percent from July to August. CoreLogic's Pending HPI points to further increases into September. Prices including distressed sales are expected to rise by 5 percent yearly and 0.3 percent monthly.
Read More »Home Prices Forecast to Weather Winter, but Will Congress Ice Gains?
Home prices continued to reclaim lost ground in September, up 3.6 percent annually with increases recorded for every corner of the country, Clear Capital reported Tuesday. Improvements have been so strong, in fact, the real estate valuation firm says yearly growth is forecast to shake off winter's chill and continue through the first quarter of 2013. That is, if federal lawmakers can keep from squashing consumer confidence and agree on a resolution to the looming ""fiscal cliff"" that awaits at year-end without letting market uncertainties fester all the way up until the deadline.
Read More »Michigan’s Housing Market Improving, Employment Key Concern: IHS
In a report from IHS Global Insight, economic issues in Michigan were examined as part of the research firm's analysis of the 12 swing states.
Read More »California Man Faces Up to 30 Years for Foreclosure Scheme
A California man was placed under arrest Friday on a complaint charging him with mail fraud for running a multistate scam that bilked homeowners out of more than $3.1 million. Alan David Tikal of Brentwood, California, was arrested at his home for a complaint that he scammed more than 1,000 homeowners out of millions of dollars in a fraudulent foreclosure rescue scheme.
Read More »Freddie Mac Revises MGIC Obligations
MGIC Investment Corporation is on its way to resolving stipulations set forth by Freddie Mac in order for the insurance company to continue issuing insurance. MGIC announced that Freddie Mac reduced the amount MGIC Investment Corporation must pay to its subsidiary from $200 million to $100 million. The GSE also extended the deadline for this contribution from the end of September to the end of December.
Read More »Underwater Ohioans Rebel for Principal Reduction Cause
Sometimes, to bring attention to what one considers to be an unjust law or policy, an act of rebellion occurs. In Ohio, three current but underwater borrowers have decided to go on a mortgage strike as an act of civil disobedience against FHFA's stance on principal reduction and the lack of help to address underwater mortgages. Rather than paying their mortgage servicer, the three Ohio homeowners will pay their principal and interest to an attorney who will hold their payments in an escrow account.
Read More »Safeguard’s Compliance Connections Unit Sees 300% Growth
Safeguard Properties announced Monday that as of the start of October, its Compliance Connections division has processed more than 10,000 code violations for the 2012 calendar year and has grown its roster of participating municipalities to 600. Both milestones represent an annual growth rate of over 300 percent.
Read More »Illinois Bank Failure Raises 2012 Tally to 43
The fall of an Illinois bank brought the year's national bank failure tally to 43, FDIC announced Friday. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's Division of Banking closed First United Bank in Crete, Illinois, appointing FDIC as receiver.
Read More »