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Michigan to Use Hardest Hit Funding to Help Unemployed Homeowners

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority recently submitted its plan to the Treasury, detailing its intentions to use the majority of the $154.5 million it received under the Hardest Hit Fund to help unemployed borrowers. Through a nonprofit corporation set up specifically for the purpose of being an ""eligible entity"" under the Hardest-Hit Fund, MSHDA plans to administer three programs, including the Unemployment Mortgage Subsidy Program, the Principal Curtailment Program, and the Loan Rescue Program.

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First-Time Homebuyers Drive Housing Market in March: Report

First-time homebuyers accounted for a record-high share of purchases last month, according to new data from Campbell Surveys. With the April 30 contract deadline to receive the federal homebuyer tax credit fast approaching, the momentum is likely to continue into this month. But some economists have warned that sales are being pulled forward to make the tax credit window, and as a result will slip fairly substantially in the months ahead. There are no plans to extend the credit again.

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Caliber Funding Expands Relationship with LenderLive Network

LenderLive Network Inc. said Monday that it has helped Caliber Funding streamline the upfront disclosure and good faith estimate (GFE) issuance process for brokers by creating completed signature-ready documents with a single click. Arizona-based Caliber Funding, started its partnership with LenderLive in 2007 with document preparation for back office services. Since then, the industry has changed drastically and more broker-specific regulations have been put into place.

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BofA Proposes Nine-Month Forbearance Plan for Unemployed

Bank of America says it is considering giving unemployed homeowners nine months of no mortgage payments while they search for a new job. If during the nine-month forbearance period, the borrower is successful in finding employment, BofA would structure a mortgage modification. If unsuccessful, the customer must be willing to relinquish the home through a deed-in-lieu. The proposal must be approved by regulators before it can be implemented.

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Goldman Charges Fuel Push for Stronger Wall Street Reform

Fraud allegations brought against Goldman Sachs Friday are still reverberating down Wall Street. Capital market analysts at Bernstein Research estimate that the suit could put Goldman Sachs on the hook for up to $700 million. The implications of the charges, though, stretch far beyond the walls of Sachs. With the federal government already gunning for big Wall Street firms as it pieces together financial reform legislation, the news has given Congress and the White House ammunition for tighter regulations.

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New Online Calculator Compares Pricing of PMI and FHA Insurance

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. recently announced a new online tool to help lenders see the pricing advantages of PMI mortgage insurance versus Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance on high FICO loans. Lenders can price various scenarios on the new tool by entering loan amounts, credit scores, and loan-to-value ratios.

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California Foreclosure Sales Soar in March

California foreclosure sales increased on both a year-over-year and month-to-month basis in March, according to the latest monthly report from locally-based ForeclosureRadar. The company says the increase will likely come as a surprise to many given all the recent news about foreclosure alternatives like short sales and new loan modifications with principal balance reductions, but as many servicers themselves have stressed, the simple reality is that these programs won't help everyone.

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Excess Inventory May Impede Housing Recovery: Fannie Mae

Although housing is beginning to stabilize, excess inventory and shadow supply may hinder recovery, according to the April 2010 Economic Outlook released Monday by Fannie Mae's economic team. For all of 2010, Fannie Mae projects a 6 percent increase in home sales, down from a 9 percent increase forecast in the March outlook and a 12 percent increase projected in February. The GSE expects to see more moderate declines in home prices this year, but says elevated foreclosures and vacant homes still pose a big risk to home values.

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SIFMA Taps FHLB Chief to Head New Securitization Group

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) announced Monday that Richard Dorfman has been appointed managing director and head of the SIFMA Securitization Group (SSG), a unit formed in early 2010 to take up the broad range of regulatory and legislative issues facing the secondary market in the wake of the nation's financial crisis. Dorfman joins SIFMA from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, where he was president and CEO.

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Eight More Community Banks Fold

The hits keep coming for small and mid-sized banks. Over the weekend, regulators shut down eight - three in Florida, two in California, and one each in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington. Altogether, this latest round of closures will cost the FDIC $985 million, and brings the total number of failed banks for the year to 50.

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