Safeguard Properties was recognized at the annual American Association of Code Enforcement (AACE) conference in Nashville, Tennessee this month for providing scholarships that allowed eight code enforcement officials from across the country to attend the conference. This was the first time that a property preservation company or member of the mortgage industry has sponsored code enforcement officers to attend the conference.

As several large servicers begin the lengthy process of an independent foreclosure review, Rep. Maxine Waters of California is repeating her request that the process be made public. Waters addresses several concerns in her most recent request, including the difficulty of reaching some of the affected borrowers, conflicts of interests between the banks and the independent reviewers, and the qualifications of those contracted to audit foreclosure cases. Fifteen of Waters' colleagues joined her in her appeal for transparency.

Mortgages backing homes that were foreclosed on in September had been delinquent for an average of 624 days, according to Lender Processing Services (LPS). That's up from 484 days in September of last year. LPS says almost 40 percent of loans in foreclosure have not made a payment in two years. Modification volumes have been falling steadily since last year, but on the plus side, LPS says close to 90 percent of the mods completed over that time have reduced borrowers' payments, and as a result, redefault rates have dropped significantly.

As of Tuesday, HUD's Mortgage Review Board is suspending Houston-based Allied Home Mortgage Corporation from originating or underwriting new mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Ginnie Mae is suspending the lender from issuing bonds through its mortgage-backed securities program. HUD also suspended James C. Hodge, Allied's president and CEO and may debar Hodge and Jeanne L. Stell, EVP of Allied Home Mortgage.

eMortgage Logic, LLC, a national provider of property valuation services, has developed a new report that the company says continues to demonstrate its ability to bring clarity and transparency to the residential valuation space. eMortgage Logic's new Platinum Valuation Report (PVR) combines broker price opinion (BPO) and automated valuation model (AVM) data, coupled with a detailed reconciliation analysis report completed by a licensed or certified appraiser.

Field Asset Services (FAS) announced Tuesday the kickoff of the company's first annual vendor conference titled FAS and FURIOUS! in Dallas, Texas. More than 1,000 REO and property preservation professionals from all over the country, representing over 600 companies, will converge in Dallas to take part in FAS's inaugural vendor conference.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board both announced Tuesday that the independent foreclosure reviews of 14 large servicers issued in April are now under way. About 4.5 million borrowers could have their loans reviewed and potentially be compensated for imposed financial hardship, according to a previous statement by the OCC. The federal regulator says the review will take several months due to the sheer volume of cases to evaluate.

Mortgage servicing practices have a considerable impact on the performance of a portfolio, and according to Moody's Investors Service, risk composition is diverging based on how individual servicers are dealing with borrowers. The ratings agency has begun publishing comparative performance metrics on the largest servicers of private residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Its analysts have identified three whose ""strong servicing practices"" have improved delinquency trends: GMAC, Ocwen, and Wells Fargo.

National real estate auction firm Hudson & Marshall donated $65,000 to the Military Warriors Support Foundation on Monday. The foundation provides assistance to combat-wounded veterans during their transition to civilian life through a variety of programs, offering a gateway to education, life skills, employment, and homeownership.

The administration unveiled its revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) last week to allow borrowers who owe significantly more than their home is worth take out new loans with lower interest rates. CoreLogic says the impact will be targeted to those markets and local economies that have suffered the most from the housing collapse. The company believes HARP 2.0 will be positive for the GSEs and the origination market, negative for bondholders, and neutral for housing itself because distressed borrowers and shadow inventory are left out of the equation.