News

At a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday, industry leaders voiced opinions on the creation of national mortgage servicing standards. While there was support for such a move on the grounds that it would protect homeowners and improve customer experience, witnesses expressed a variety of concerns, including the possibility of further complicating already complex standards from a variety of authorities; creating undue hardships for community banks; and negatively impacting responsible homeowners.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) filed a lawsuit last week in a New York federal court against UBS Americas, Inc. for violations of federal securities laws related to UBS' sale of $4.5 billion in private-label residential mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The lawsuit alleges that UBS Americas made material misstatements and omissions about the mortgage loans underlying the bonds. Fannie and Freddie claim they have already lost in excess of 20 percent of their entire investment.

Axis Appraisal Management Solutions announced Monday that it has appointed Ron Simmons, SRA, as its chief appraiser and director of valuation services. Simmons brings to Axis a range of experience in the appraisal and technology business fields. He operated an appraisal practice for well over a decade and is a certified residential appraiser in the Northern California area.

Econohomes, an online source for wholesale investment properties based out of Austin, Texas, is now offering fully renovated residential properties to its REO inventory. Econohomes says its renovated offerings fit the bill for owner-occupiers who don't want to have to deal with repairs and for investors looking for a home they can quickly rent out to generate positive cash flow. The company is actively exploring ways to expand its supply of renovated homes.

The House Financial Services Committee is considering a bill to ease the pressure that unsold inventories of vacant, foreclosed homes are putting on the housing market. The Neighborhood Preservation Act would authorize FDIC-member banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to enter into five-year lease agreements to rent REO properties back to the foreclosed homeowner. News surfaced last month that the administration was considering such a policy for Fannie and Freddie, but a group of bipartisan U.S. representatives want to enact it with legislation.

Consumers' overall satisfaction with primary mortgage servicers has decreased significantly since 2010, according to the results of a study released by J.D. Power and Associates Monday. Overall satisfaction fell from 747 in 2010 to 718 in 2011. J.D. Power and Associates measures customer satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale, taking four areas of servicing into consideration: billing and payment process; escrow account administration, phone contact, and website. A decline was present in all areas.

Short-sale disputes were designated as the most significant legal issue facing real estate professionals, according to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors. Almost 55 percent of survey respondents listed short sales as the cause of ""a significant number of disputes."" REO-related issues also ranked high on the legal barometer. NAR conducts its ""legal scan"" study every two years, combining legal data and research with survey results from key industry participants.

Federal and state regulators shut down three more community-based lenders over the weekend in Indiana, South Carolina, and Virginia. With this latest round of closings, the FDIC's failed-bank list has grown to 61 for the 2011 calendar year. Integra Bank, N.A. in Evansville, Indiana, was the largest of this weekend's seizures, with 52 branches, $1.9 billion in deposits, and assets totaling $2.2 billion. It was taken over by Old National Bank, also in Indiana.

The nation's housing crisis has forced unprecedented numbers of homeowners out of their homes, made for a difficult homebuying environment, and tainted many Americans' ideal of owning a home. These factors are taking their toll on homeownership in this country. The Census Bureau says homeownership in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in more than 13 years, slipping to 65.9 percent in the second quarter. The increase in the homeownership rate seen during the housing boom has been more than completely wiped out by the bust.

What many consider to be a staple of American homeownership is expected to be on the chopping block as lawmakers look to trim the nation's deficit. The prized mortgage interest tax deduction has been part of the federal tax code since 1913. Currently, it costs the U.S. Treasury an estimated $94 billion a year. Congress has tossed around several proposals for amending this part of the federal tax code, including lowering the debt limit to $500,000 on first mortgages. Such a move is estimated to return between $5 billion and $15 billion.