News

Bank of America is the first major mortgage servicer to leverage the federal government's Hardest Hit Fund to begin pilot programs of principal reductions for Arizona customers who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth. Through the Arizona pilot, BofA customers experiencing financial hardship may be eligible to have the amount owed on their mortgages reduced through matching contributions from the state and participating mortgage investors.

Data released by Lender Processing Services (LPS) Wednesday shows that while foreclosure starts decreased in the first month of 2011, they still outnumber foreclosure sales by almost three to one. According to the company's analysis, lenders initiated 230,000 foreclosure actions in January, down 11.4 percent from the previous month. Foreclosure sales totaled approximately 80,000 during the same month. At the same time, deterioration in the 90-plus days delinquent category increased for the first time since May 2010.

An internal review by SunTrust has uncovered problems with the paperwork in thousands of foreclosure cases, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company says its assessment indicated approximately 4,000 files contained documents with ""technical issues"" in the complaint verification, affidavit preparation, and notary processes. SunTrust is refiling defective documentation in pending foreclosure actions and expects this process to be completed by the end of March.

On Wednesday, a hearing was held by the Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee to determine the fate of four federal foreclosure mitigation programs. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Refinance Program, and the Emergency Mortgage Relief Fund all have bills in play advocating for their termination. Witness testimony was mixed on whether the programs should continue or come to an end.

DepotPoint, Inc., a provider of Web-based default management, short sale, and REO workflow solutions, recently partnered with Code Violation Services, Inc., a provider of code violation disclosure reports and vacant property registration services. With this partnership, users of TrackPoint, DepotPoint's technology platform for managing default transactions, can now perform code violation checks on their REO properties.

Treasury released its new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, just hours before a House subcommittee convened a hearing to terminate the government's flagship foreclosure prevention program and three other federal housing programs. As of the end of January, active permanent HAMP mods totaled 539,493, but critics say the numbers aren't high enough and the House subcommittee's looming ""kill-bill"" hearing was a sensitive subject for officials.

The Mediation Center Southeast announced on Wednesday the expansion of the Foreclosure Meditation Program, a woman owned nonprofit that is a court approved alternative to the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation (RMFM) program in Florida. According to a press release, through the Foreclosure Mediation Program, The Mediation Center Southeast strives to provide an effective mediation program - not just a program that is compliant with the Florida Supreme Court Administrative Order.

The creditor's rights law firm Gerner & Kearns, Co., L.P.A. recently announced the appointment of D. Anthony Sottile as a senior associate in the firm's default services practice group as its lead bankruptcy attorney, and Crystal L. Saresky as an associate also in the firm's default services practice group. Both attorneys join the firm with nearly 10 years' experience.

DRI Management Systems, Inc., a provider of default process management software, added new functionality with several new modules to version 1.4 of its flagship technology. Officially relabeled DRI Office, the platform was previously known by its development code name, Rincon. According to DRI, the new version was created to relieve mortgage servicers' workloads and improve results with capacity planning, workflow tracking, services ordering, and enhanced communication capabilities.

Green River Capital, an REO asset management and loss mitigation provider for mortgage servicers, investment firms, and banking institutions, recently announced several company achievements for 2010, including the addition of seven new clients, the expansion of its preferred agent network, and completion of its SAS 70 Type II certification.