News

RxOffice, a default management technology platform from IndiSoft, was recently enhanced to meet the updated Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) eligibility rules and forms, such as the Dodd-Frank affidavit. Specifically, the RxOffice short sale module supports the capture of data needed to execute either a HAFA or traditional short sale.

Recent improvements in the job market are translating into falling subprime delinquency rates. At the same time, prices on subprime credit-default swaps (CDS) have risen for five straight months. Multiple reports on the secondary market signal growing investor appetite for subprime mortgage bonds and finance instruments like CDS, which transfer the risk of default from the bond holder to the seller of the swap. According to Fitch, subprime delinquencies are dropping sharply with cured loans up by as much as 50 percent for some vintages.

The American Securitization Forum (ASF) is opening a Washington, D.C. office. The organization is headquartered in New York but with all the new rules and regulatory changes coming down from Washington, ASF says a physical presence there will help further its advocacy efforts on behalf of the securitization markets. In conjunction with the office opening, ASF has named Jim Johnson managing director of public policy. Johnson previously served as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee for Ranking Member Richard Shelby.

Fannie Mae announced Monday that borrowers purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned property through HomePath, the GSE's REO disposition operation, will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance. The company has implemented this temporary buyer assistance program fairly regularly since the beginning of last year -- a strategy aimed at helping the GSE unload a bloated supply of repossessed homes. Fannie Mae acquired 262,078 single-family REO properties through foreclosure in 2010, compared with 145,617 in 2009.

The Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board has settled with Massachusetts mortgage lender First American Mortgage Trust (FAMT) for failing to verify whether borrowers could sustain mortgage payments prior to refinancing loans. FAMT agreed to pay $72,500, reimburse FHA for past insurance claims, and indemnify FHA's insurance fund for any claims to be paid on certain mortgages should they default within the next 60 months.

Four fair housing organizations have released their findings of a year-long undercover investigation of 80 loan modification companies, which reveal a host of corrupt practices scammers employ to target homeowners in distress. According to the report, 55 percent of loan modification companies required an upfront fee to start work or a low initial fee to conduct minimal work, such as reviewing loan documents. Twenty-four percent advised or encouraged homeowners to stop making mortgage payments or stop contacting their lenders.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has announced the promotion of Jim Gross to VP of financial accounting and public policy. In this capacity, he will advise Steve O'Connor, MBA's SVP of public policy and industry relations on emerging industry policy issues and assist in setting strategic priorities.

Utah-based Infinity Valuation Services (IVS), a full-service valuation company for commercial and retail properties and the sister company to REO outsourcer Green River Capital, expanded its broker price opinions (BPOs) and appraisal services to include the valuation of retail or non-distressed properties.

After a two-week lull in which no banking institution was shuttered by regulators, the FDIC stepped in this weekend to seize Western Springs National Bank and Trust in Illinois and Nevada Commerce Bank headquartered in Las Vegas. The two closings bring the total number on the FDIC's failed bank list for the 2011 calendar year to 28. Bank failures have slowed recently. During the first quarter of this year, 27 insured banks went under. It's the lowest quarterly tally since the second quarter of 2009 when bad real estate loans were forcing near-record numbers to close their doors weekly.

Fannie Mae is planning to unload a 25 percent stake in its stock of foreclosed apartment buildings. The buyer - Related Companies, a New York-based firm founded by real estate mogul Stephen Ross, also of Miami Dolphins ownership fame. The deal reportedly also includes an option for Related Cos. to buy an ownership stake in any multifamily properties Fannie forecloses on in the future.