For homeowners who may have faced a foreclosure or obtained a modification in 2012, there may be free tax advice available through a NeighborWorks America organization. NeighborWorks announced several of its organizations provide free tax preparation services for low- and moderate-income clients.
Read More »Can Foreclosures Be Good for the Market?
In a report released Monday, ForeclosureRadar boldly asserts that foreclosures are helping mend the market in California, and the government--backed by the banking industry--has created foreclosure delays to help bank balance sheets. ForeclosureRadar argues ""the real problem continues to be the negative equity created during a massive and unsustainable credit bubble,"" not foreclosures, which are helping homeowners ""escape a prison of debt.""
Read More »Administration Highlights Federal Housing Program Achievements
According to the latest monthly housing scorecard from the Obama administration, the housing market has officially bottomed out, although ""recovery remains fragile."" With prices rising for 12 consecutive months as of October and sales on the rise as well, HUD's senior advisor on housing finance, Michael Berman said, ""[O]ur housing market is continuing to show important signs of recovery."" The government's Making Home Affordable Program has achieved more than 1.5 million loss mitigations and early delinquency interventions, according to the December report.
Read More »Nevada AG Introduces New Homeowner Relief Program
Nevada Attorney General (AG) Catherine Cortez Masto announced a new program to help homeowners in Nevada find state and federal assistance that might be available to them. The Home Again Nevada Homeowner Relief Program is a one-stop resource center that is accessed by calling 1-855-HLP-4-NEV (1-855-457-4638).
Read More »HOPE NOW: 5.9M Completed Mods Since 2007; Short Sales Increase
Short sales continued to increase in October, while foreclosure starts fell, according to data from HOPE NOW. Completed short sales reached 38,518 in October, representing a 13 percent increase from September. Meanwhile, HOPE NOW also reported nearly 6 million struggling homeowners have received a permanent modification since 2007. Among the modifications, 4.8 million were proprietary loan modifications, while 1.1 million mods were through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
Read More »Report: California’s Foreclosure Inventory Continues to Dry Up
Foreclosure inventory in California continued its steady decline in November, according to data from ForeclosureRadar. The total number of preforeclosures, foreclosures scheduled for sale, and REOs fell 7.6 percent from October to November and declined by 31.8 percent from a year ago. ForeclosureRadar said, ""the significant decline in foreclosure inventory over the past year has contributed to what some are calling an 'inventory crisis' of total homes for sale."" The company attributes foreclosure cancellations as part of the reason for the decline.
Read More »CFPB Stops Two Operations for Allegedly Scamming Homeowners
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) put a stop to two companies it believes took part in mortgage modification scams that cheated thousands struggling homeowners. The CFPB alleges Gordon Law Firm and the National Legal Help Center amassed more than $10 million after charging consumers for services that falsely promised to stop foreclosures or provide modifications.
Read More »Administration Assesses Housing Market, Servicer Performance
Based on data compiled in the latest ""housing scorecard, the Obama administration described the housing market as ""strengthening"" and noted the continual rise in home values and the strong home sales in October. The administration also released the Making Home Affordable Program report, which details performance related to modifications. According to the report, since the national mortgage servicing settlement, principal reductions outside of the HAMP Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA) program have been more widely used.
Read More »Ocwen Required to Hire Monitor after a Review of Its Servicing Practices
A review of Ocwen's mortgage servicing practices has found indications of non-compliance with recent servicing reforms, New York's Department of Financial Services announced. The exam found that Ocwen sometimes failed to provide a single point of contact for borrowers, pursued foreclosure actions on borrowers seeking loan modifications, failed to conduct an independent review of loan mod denials, and failed to ensure that borrower and loan information was accurate and up to date. Following the examination, the department is now requiring that Ocwen hire an independent monitor to review its operations and identify and report on corrective actions.
Read More »OFS’ Loss Mitigation Pilot Leads to High Returns
Outreach Financial Services, LLC (OFS)reported returns on investment of 800 percent through its loss mitigation pilot program efforts. OFS, a Jacksonville, Florida-based mortgage services provider, says the ""figure is based on the incremental losses that were avoided.""
Read More »