REO

Williston Financial Group and its wholly owned subsidiary WFG National Title Insurance Company have appointed Morgan Harris as EVP of default services. As head of the company's default services division, Harris will be responsible for the strategic direction of the division, as well as the oversight and management of all aspects of sales and production.

A2Z Field Services, an inspection and property preservation service provider headquartered in Ohio, announced the renewal of the company's three Field Services Management (FSM) contracts with HUD. The company provides property management services to HUD in 18 states and the District of Columbia and will continue to assist the federal agency with its bank-owned inventory over the next year.

HUD says foreclosures will have to be re-filed on some of its REO homes due to a Michigan court ruling. In April, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued a judgment stating that MERS does not meet the requirements under state statute to act as the foreclosing agent in non-judicial proceedings. HUD says most of the major title insurers in Michigan have ceased issuing title insurance for any repossessed properties involving MERS and a non-judicial foreclosure. The agency is directing mortgagees to re-foreclosure on any affected homes to cure the title defect.

Green River Capital recently partnered with Mountain America Credit Union to provide commercial and residential REO management services. The company's technology platform allows Mountain America to identify the status of its properties at any time and provides real-time reporting, valuation, offer acceptance, and expense tracking online.

While a number of closely-watched home price indices show national readings have slipped into a double-dip, Altos Research says it's come and gone. The firm notes that the latest Case-Shiller findings declaring a new post-recession low are based on data through the end of March. Since that time, Altos has recorded a steady uptick in prices for both major metros and mid-city markets across the country. The firm expects to see a rising and falling pattern for several years and believes the double-dip is really just the start of the next housing cycle.

The delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) fell slightly in May from the new record high set the month before, according to Trepp LLC. The research firm says the percentage of CMBS loans 30 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or REO has fallen back 5 basis points to 9.60 percent. Trepp says while it seems small, May's decline is actually the biggest rate drop in about two years. The value of delinquent loans within commercial mortgage bonds now stands at $61.5 billion.

LenderLive Settlement Services has expanded its title-related and portfolio management service offerings in response to new regulatory compliance requirements affecting lenders and servicers. In today's environment, LenderLive says it is even more imperative that servicers have all title and mortgage documentation in order. The company notes that there have been instances where foreclosures or other loan actions have been delayed because the title information could not be verified.

The market has been battered by reports of continuing home price depreciation with both the Clear Capital and S&P/Case-Shiller indices confirming that national readings have fallen below the double-dip mark. But data released Wednesday by CoreLogic provided a flicker of improvement - at least from the short-term view. The company says its index shows home prices in the U.S. rose 0.7 percent between March and April. It's the first such increase since the homebuyer tax credit expired in mid-2010, and that reading includes distressed sales.

Both new foreclosure actions and completed foreclosure sales took a dive in April after rising sharply the month before, according to industry data released Wednesday. Foreclosure starts nationwide totaled approximately 163,000 in April, while foreclosure sales dropped to 73,000, reports the industry alliance HOPE NOW. At the same time, though, proprietary loan modifications also declined. HOPE NOW says the performance of these loan mods has remained ""steady,"" with a re-default rate of 20 percent.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. (FGMC) recently partnered with APD Solutions and Home Depot to launch an initiative aimed at accelerating the resale of REO properties and rebuilding the housing stock nationwide. Coined ""Rebuild the Dream,"" the initiative seeks to reduce the time cycle on the sale of bank-owned homes and improve sale prices by providing incentives to homebuyers and real estate selling agents to use rehabilitation loans to increase the value and appeal of REO properties.