Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

The risk for property valuation fraud rose nearly 8 percent for this fourth quarter, according to the Mortgage Fraud Risk Report released by Interthinkx. This rise caused certain regions of the New York Tri-State region to move into the high risk category. The national mortgage fraud risk index also increased by 1.4 percent compared to the last quarter and 3.6 percent since a year ago. With an index value of 247, Arizona overtook Nevada as the riskiest state. Nevada, now at number two, ranked first in this category since the first quarter of 2010.

President Obama's budget proposal continues to receive a barrage of criticism, especially from Republican lawmakers. Obama specifically targets the nation's largest banks with a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, through which he intends to raise $61 billion. The money is intended to ""compensate the American people for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street"" and discourage excessive risk-taking, Obama says. Part of the money would be used to fund the mass refinance program outlined in his State of the Union address.

Residential Credit Solutions, Inc. (RCS) has just received approval from the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) to be an issuer and servicer for the Ginnie Mae I and II single-family mortgage-backed securities programs. Dennis Stowe, president and CEO of RCS, says the nod from Ginnie Mae will allow the company to provide assistance to a broader constituency of homeowners by expanding its servicing and sub-servicing offerings to both investors and issuers of federally insured and guaranteed loans.

The $25 billion, 49-state settlement awarded Ohio with $335 million to be used for recovery and prevention efforts. Through the creation of a grant program, the AG's office will set aside $75 million to fund the removal of vacant and abandoned properties, which decrease the value of surrounding homes. While the exact number in Ohio is unknown, the estimate is 100,000 properties.

With all the buzz after the multistate settlement regarding potential relief to homeowners, the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force reminded consumers to be cautious of potential scams. It's getting harder to identify the good guys from the bad guys, said David Long, co-chair of the TFPTF. Borrowers will not know immediately if they are eligible for relief, and there is no cost to participate in the initiatives from the settlement.

As many as 10 million homeowners are at risk of default, according to Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In an op-ed piece, Cordray recounts the type of behavior and practices that put so many Americans in danger of losing their homes - it's what he describes as ""the wild West of lending."" Enter the CFPB. While the agency is charged with overseeing all consumer-facing financial products and services, Cordray says its greatest focus is on the mortgage market, and servicing in particular.

In addition to the $25 billion settlement between the five largest servicers and 49 states, Nevada's Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto reaped more for Nevada homeowners through an additional settlement with Bank of America. Masto won Nevada $750 million in relief for lien principal payments and short sales from BofA and $30 million for consumer protection efforts. That's on top of the $1.5 billion that will go to the state from the nationwide settlement reached with all five servicers.

Sen. Robert Menendez says the $25 billion settlement struck between federal and state officials and the nation's five largest mortgage servicers helps homeowners but is a long way from healing the grievous wounds left by the crisis. He has introduced a bill that would encourage lenders to reduce principal for underwater borrowers with a shared-appreciation modification.

Thursday's unprecedented $25 billion settlement between federal and state officials and the nation's top mortgage servicers was especially favorable to California. After leaving settlement negotiations in September, claiming the proposal at the time was inadequate for California homeowners, Attorney General Kamala Harris opted to sign on to the final settlement, which was revised to secure $18 billion for the state of California. At the time Harris left the settlement, California was expected to receive about $4 billion from the banks.

Federal and state officials announced Thursday morning that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general - with Oklahoma as the lone exception - have reached a $25 billion agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address what authorities describe as ""loan servicing and foreclosure abuses."" The settlement with the nation's top five servicers – Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) - provides financial relief to homeowners and establishes new homeowner protections.