News

In a joint announcement from JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Jonathon Rowles, the financial services firm revealed it will provide $27 million in benefits to its military customers. The funds are part of a settlement to a class action lawsuit over financial protections due to military customers under the Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA). JP Morgan admitted to violating the SCRA after the company wrongfully foreclosed on military families and overcharged thousands.

An industry study released Monday shows that nearly half of home sales activity last month involved distressed properties, a trend that is likely to continue as the backlog of foreclosures and mortgage defaults make their way through the pipeline. Within this distressed property segment, the market analysis shows a boom in short sales during the month of March to a record-high 19.6 percent, and a drop in the proportion of damaged REO, which the report says should be a positive for home values in future months.

Vendor Resource Management (VRM), a nationwide REO asset disposition firm headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, recently announced several staff promotions and appointments for senior executive positions. Altogether, the company has filled seven roles across various departments, including strategic development, human resources, federal practices, operations, training, and accounting.

With no lender closings this weekend, the 2011 failed-bank tally holds at 34. By comparison, at this time in 2010, the year's failures stood at 57. Earlier this month, the FDIC updated its loss projections. The cost of FDIC-insured institution failures for the five-year period from 2011 through 2015 is expected to be $21 billion, compared to losses of $24 billion for banks that failed in 2010 alone. Market analysis conducted by Trepp LLC indicates that lenders are now taking the biggest hit from souring commercial real estate loans.

Clear Capital has released its new Property Condition Inspection (PCI) tool. The new product provides a property's physical condition and characteristics, supplementing automated valuation models (AVMs) in accordance with new requirements from the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines (IAG) issued by federal regulators.

The National REO Brokers Association announced this week that it has chosen a new board of directors for the organization. This new leadership team consists of three executive board members and twelve directors, which will provide direct regional leadership and support for the Nevada-based organization’s members nationwide.

With foreclosures expected to rise through 2012, Realis Real Estate Software recently offered tips for REO agents to avoid legal trouble when working with multiple foreclosure properties. The Denver-based workflow management software firm says foreclosure fraud is also increasing, which means potential damaging litigation. Realis says for agents, it all boils down to integrity, organization of all key data, and documentation.

While the share of distressed sales - REOs and short sales - is on the rise when tallying numbers nationwide, it's falling in California. The California Association of Realtors reports that the total ratio of all distressed property types sold statewide declined in March to 51 percent, down from 56 percent in February. REOs sold last month went for 88 percent less than non-distressed properties, while short sales had a median discount of 41 percent.

As home prices began heading further and further south, the term ""strategic default"" made its way into industry jargon...and into the minds of lending and servicing professionals already struggling to keep up with large volumes of borrowers who actually can't afford their mortgage payments. It's a fairly new phenomenon that the industry agrees needs addressing, but the problem is, how do you pinpoint a strategic defaulter? The credit assessment firm FICO says it's developed a method, using consumer behavior analytics, that will allow lenders to identify borrowers who might walk away.

Under a new Idaho state law, lenders must respond to requests for loan modification within 45 days and cannot proceed to a foreclosure sale until after responding to the request. House Bill 331, which takes effect September 1, also stipulates that lenders must meet in person or over the phone with the borrower if the borrower requests it. In addition, new documentation requirements and borrower contact parameters have been put in place.