News

Wipeout, an electronic information security application from technology development firm IndiSoft, is now available to the financial services industry in the United States. The application, which is currently used in the health care industry in India, enables users to permanently remove sensitive data from the hard drives of PCs and laptops. IndiSoft says the technology is critical to ensuring data held by financial institutions is not compromised.

Servicers have picked up the pace as they work through a backlog of loans that have languished in late-stage delinquency status for months, and in some cases well over a year. As a result, Lender Processing Services says lenders' foreclosure inventories have risen dramatically and are about 7.4 times above the historical average. Increases in delinquency numbers have remained subdued, however, as loans are pushed out the end of the pipeline faster than new delinquencies enter.

In October, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation launched a program designed to help unemployed and underemployed homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgages. The pilot program is currently being offered to Lee County homeowners but will be expanded statewide in early 2011. This week the corporation announced they will open the eligibility requirements for the program, allowing homeowners who are up to 180 days delinquent on their mortgages to qualify for the service.

The Law Offices of Daniel C. Consuegra, P.L. issued a notice this week announcing the firm's addition as a member of the Fannie Mae Retained Attorney Network. The Tampa-based firm is now eligible to represent Fannie Mae in foreclosure and bankruptcy matters in the state of Florida. Fannie Mae de-listed the controversial foreclosure mill the Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A. from its approved attorney network and instructed its servicers to begin transferring pending cases to other firms earlier this month.

A Citigroup official says the company's review of foreclosure cases has uncovered some 14,000 affidavits that will likely need to be re-filed with the courts. Since the paperwork controversy surfaced and triggered foreclosure suspensions by several major mortgage servicers, Citi has been unwavering in its claims that the foreclosure processes it has in place are ""sound."" The company says for the most part, it has been able to steer clear of the robo-signing mess because of a restructuring that began more than a year ago.

The ongoing controversy surrounding deficiencies in foreclosure documentation is taking its toll on the housing market as a significant share of home shoppers refused to even look at distressed properties in October, according to a study conducted by Campbell Surveys. Not only did reports of major servicers pulling REO properties off the market spook would-be homebuyers, but servicing problems resulted in 12 percent of scheduled closings being delayed or canceled due to REO title issues, the company found.

A new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule bans providers of foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable. The rule also requires mortgage relief companies to provide their clients with a document describing the key changes to the mortgage that would result if the consumer accepts the offer. They must also remind consumers of their right to reject the offer without any charge.

New data from TransUnion shows the national mortgage loan delinquency rate in Q3 2010 declined by the highest amount since the last quarter of 2006. Based on the credit reporting agency's analysis, the delinquency rate for Q3 was 6.44 percent, down from Q2's rate of 6.67 percent. A representative from TransUnion said the significant decline is an encouraging sign for a struggling industry and attributed the drop to increased stabilization in housing prices and record low interest rates.

The industry's ominous shadow inventory of REOs that have yet to hit the market and soon-to-be-REOs increased by more than 10 percent between August 2009 and August 2010, according to new figures released by CoreLogic Monday. The company's calculations show the shadow supply of residential properties reached 2.1 million units in August of this year, a volume that will take eight months to clear at today's sluggish sales pace. CoreLogic puts the industry's ""visible"" inventory of homes for sale at 4.2 million.

McGeough Lamacchia, a real estate agency headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, recently extended its services to include the Rhode Island market. Specializing in short sales, the agency says it hopes to expand into additional markets across New England. According to a statement from the company, it has successfully completed more short sale transactions than any other real estate firm in Massachusetts and currently holds a number one MLS ranking in short sales.