James B. Lockhart, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released the organization’s September monthly Foreclosure Prevention Report. The study — which provides monthly data on the loss mitigation efforts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as information on delinquencies, foreclosures initiated, and foreclosures completed — shows that of the two government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs’) 30.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California), chairwoman of the subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity and a member of the Financial Services Committee, introduced the Systematic Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Modification Act of 2008 (H.

Bergenfield, New Jersey-based NJLispendens recently announced enhanced search options to its Web site for pre-foreclosure court filings. NJLispendens offers legal insider information that is updated daily, allowing for real estate investors, lenders, and Realtors to locate recently filed foreclosure actions as they are recorded in the courts and pinpoint homeowners in default who need their help to avoid foreclosure.

Two more community banks have fallen under the pressures of the country’s economic and housing crises, bringing the total number of institutions on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC’s) failed bank list to 25 in 2008.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Rapid Reporting, a provider of income and identity verification products for the mortgage industry, has announced that the Social Security Administration is now providing verification of Social Security numbers in real-time, enabling Rapid Reporting to provide nearly immediate answers to users of its DirectChek identity verification solution.

President-elect Barack Obama said on Saturday that he has chosen Shaun Donovan, the commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City, to be the next Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary.

First American Document Solutions, a post-closing and servicing solutions provider and a First American Corporation company, has announced the availability of ePostClosing.com, its new online portal designed to help lenders and servicers reduce their post-closing document management costs and improve investor compliance.

Lenders who have pledged to halt foreclosure proceedings are apparently proceeding with foreclosure actions anyway, according to a recent BusinessWeek:http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db2008123_362200.

An estimated 8.1 million homes in the United States, or 16 percent of all outstanding mortgages, will be foreclosed over the next four years, according to a recent research and analytics report issued by the 152-year old financial institution Credit Suisse.

Seven new lawsuits have been filed by the state attorney general of Illinois against mortgage rescue companies. Attorney General Lisa Madigan said there is an alarming rise in scams that prey on vulnerable homeowners on the verge of foreclosure, and said homeowners should use caution when seeking help if they are at risk of losing their homes and to seek reputable and trusted sources for assistance.