News

Stewart Lender Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stewart Title Company, now provides nationwide foreclosure file processing reviews for mortgage servicers to ensure their compliance with standard foreclosure practices. The company says these services can also prove beneficial to servicers in preparation for the continued scrutiny and subsequent response to federal and state law enforcement agencies investigating mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing practices.

Urban Lending Solutions, a provider of residential and commercial mortgage products and services, has hired settlement services industry veteran Michael Forgas to serve as the company's chief strategy officer. Forgas, formerly CEO of National Real Estate Information Services (NREIS), will help set the strategic direction for Urban Lending Solutions and head up the firm's sales and marketing efforts.

Pro Teck Valuation Services and Collateral Analytics have teamed up to launch Home Value Forecast (HVF). The inaugural edition of the monthly HVF was released Monday. The two partnering companies describe it as bringing ""a unique perspective on the U.S. housing market."" The goal of the new forecasting solution is to highlight the fact that all real estate is local. HVF employs a unique ranking system for the largest metros to highlight the best and worst markets with regard to a number of real estate indicators.

Mortgage servicing took center stage at a mortgage banking conference in Chicago on Monday, with industry experts making a case for reform. Panelists at a session on the future of mortgage servicing assured attendees that in five years, the servicing business ""will look nothing"" like it does today. Executives from such organizations as Freddie Mac, Amherst Securities, and the University of North Carolina advocated for national servicing standards, greater transparency, and new compensation structures.

Two Georgia congressmen are proposing a bill they believe will help some homeowners keep up with their mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure. Sen. Johnny Isakson and Rep. Tom Graves have introduced the Hardship Outlays to protect Mortgagee Equity (HOME) Act, which would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide penalty free distributions from certain retirement plans, which a homeowner could use to cover mortgage payments on a principal residence.

One of New York's largest-volume foreclosure law firms has signed on to an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, requiring the firm to pay $2 million and change its foreclosure practices - a case that market observers say could set a national precedent. The law firm of Steven J. Baum, P.C. has been the subject of a six-month investigation into whether the firm, on behalf of its lender clients, filed misleading pleadings, affidavits, and mortgage assignments related to foreclosure actions in both state and federal courts in New York.

The FDIC has launched a suit against 11 executives of former Georgia-based Alpha Bank & Trust hoping to recover $23.92 million in damages as a result of the bank's ""failure to use ordinary care and gross negligence."" The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance closed Alpha Bank & Trust in October 2008 after less than 30 months of operation, making it the fastest-failing bank between 1992 and 2008. The filing specifically targets 13 commercial loans, which the FDIC says borrowers had no ability to repay.

Banking regulators in the states of Minnesota and Missouri stepped in over the weekend to shut down community-based lenders in each of their respective states. These latest two closings bring the number of insured institutions on the FDIC's failed-bank list to 76 for the 2011 calendar year. The RiverBank in Wyoming, Minnesota, had been in operation for more than a century but the latest real estate downturn proved to be too much for the local community fixture. Security Bank in Ellington, Missouri, was also closed.

Mortgage Contracting Services LLC (MCS), a nationwide provider of property preservation, inspections, and REO property maintenance, announced Monday that Marc Hinkle has joined the company as SVP of strategic initiatives. In this position, he will focus on enhancing the client experience and integrating new technologies. Hinkle joins MCS after more than 17 years at PHH Mortgage, most recently as VP and servicing manager.

Markets in North Dakota and Hawaii show the strongest potential for home price appreciation over the next year, according to Veros Real Estate Solutions. At the other end of the spectrum, the company sees continued weakness in some of the hardest hit markets of California, Nevada, and Florida, although price depreciation is expected to slow dramatically from the free-fall days of earlier in the downturn. Veros' national home price index continues to show stability in its quarterly results, holding fairly constant at -1.7 percent.