News

The national unemployment rate continues to rise - from 9.5 percent in July to 9.6 percent in August - but there's hope on the horizon in Depew, New York. AMS Servicing, LLC, a national specialty servicer for residential and small balance commercial mortgages, announced this week it has immediate openings for full- and part-time customer service call center representatives in Depew. The main function of this position is to provide customer service support to internal and external customers regarding the short sale of residential properties.

Fiserv, Inc. said Wednesday that it has rebranded its Loan Servicing Platform with the name LoanServ. As a single-platform, real-time solution, LoanServ combines mortgage loans, consumer loans, indirect financing, home equity loans and lines of credit, and distressed loan functionality into one core system so that all of a borrower's retail loan relationships can be supported through one system. Fiserv says this complete picture of a customer's credit capacity is crucial for mitigating risk.

A study released by Clear Capital Thursday shows that quarter-over-quarter home prices were up 5.7 percent in August, compared to the previous month's reading. It's a gain, but the company says price increases are beginning to narrow and appear to be poised for a descent. Even with the slowdown, Clear Capital's assessment is that home prices won't fall below the lows seen in 2009 and bring about that dreaded double dip...at least not until next spring.

Economic growth is still grinding along, but has slowed considerably since earlier in the year, according to the Federal Reserve's popular Beige Book report released Wednesday. Reports from the 12 Fed districts on their local economies painted a picture of ""widespread signs of a deceleration."" Real estate remains a drag on economic growth in regions across the country, with major trouble spots identified in poor home sales and weak demand for commercial space.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that its index of home purchase applications jumped 6.3 percent for the week ending September 3, 2010, reaching its highest level since the end of May. Purchase activity, though, is still nearly 40 percent below what it was this time last year. Refinance applications, on the other hand, fell 3.1 percent as interest rates edged up slightly - their first drop in six weeks.

HUD awarded an additional $1 billion Wednesday to state and county governments to help communities reverse the effects of the foreclosure crisis and assist with the cleanup of vacant homes. The grants represent the third round of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding - which so far amounts to a total of $7 billion - earmarked for acquiring, redeveloping, or demolishing foreclosed properties. Recipients are able to take advantage of HUD's new REO ""First Look"" program with the nation's largest mortgage lenders.

The law firm of Gibbs & Bruns LLP says its institutional investor clients have issued binding instructions to Bank of New York, serving as trustee, to open an investigation of ineligible mortgages behind more than $26 billion of residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) issued by subprime lender Countrywide. The firm's clients hold more than 25 percent of the voting rights of the RMBS in question, and can demand the repurchase of mortgages that did not conform to required representations and warranties.

Five Brothers, a provider of commercial and residential mortgage default management solutions, recently released its DocPRO Document Delivery Solution, which the company says speeds and simplifies the preparation, delivery, notarization, and tracking of mortgage documents. The company's CEO explained that the new technology saves clients both time and money with minimal effort on the client's part.

Equator announced Wednesday that it has completed implementations of its PRO REO Workstation with several middle-market firms: Kingdom First Properties, Metro Brokers Inc., Pacifica Companies, and Lifeway Capital. Equator rolled out the new PRO REO solution in March, which allows outsourcers and smaller servicers to immediately transact with over 730,000 agents and 21,600 vendors electronically to manage, market, and sell their REO properties.

The Federal Reserve has issued new rules intended to protect consumers from deceptive mortgage lending, including explicit restrictions on how mortgage brokers and loan officers can be compensated. Specifically, the impending payment requirements, which go into effect next April, prohibit loan originators from double-charging for origination fees and from steering borrowers into less-than-optimal loan products in return for higher compensation. Moody's says these changes will translate into a lower probability of default on mortgage loans.