Mortgage Servicing News articles from June 2009

Mortgage Servicing News archives from June 2009

Counseling and Mortgages 'Symbiotic'; Sign Up for Mortgage Servicing News Bulletin!www.mortgageservicingnews.com.(Credit Counselor)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Amilda Dymi One of the most tangible lessons the industry and borrowers appear to have learned from the foreclosure crisis is that counseling is a symbiotic partner to mortgage finance. Demand is energizing the marketplace. ...

GNMA Servicing Is Hot.(News)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Paul Muolo Washington-With FHA-backed mortgages among the hottest loan products in the nation, it's no surprise that "flow" servicing rights tied to GNMA securities are now in huge demand. One New York-based servicing advisor...

IBM Now Offers Loan Modification Support.(News)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Anthony Garritano Armonk, NY-Realizing the need to modify a record number of problem loans and the fact that servicers can't keep up, IBM here has stepped in with a new offering that it hopes will allow mortgage loan servicers to...

PROMOTION SPOTLIGHT: HAROLD LEWIS.(News)
June 1, 2009... Mr. Lewis, a former Fannie Mae servicing executive, has been hired by CitiMortgage to head its Homeowner Assistance Program. While at Fannie Mae, Mr. Lewis worked with the Obama administration to develop the mortgage agency's new Making Home...

Where's the AIG 'Smoking Gun' Memo on Default Swaps?(Mortgage Scene)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Paul Muolo A decade ago the Federal Reserve came to the rescue of Long-Term Capital Management, a gargantuan private hedge fund founded and managed by former Salomon Brothers trader John Meriwether. Even though LTCM wasn't a...

Nonagency MBS Challenging Anti-Foreclosure Efforts.(News)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Bonnie Sinnock New York-Some progress has been made when it comes to mitigating mortgage losses and helping keep distressed low- to moderate-income borrowers in their homes, but more needs to be done - particularly when it comes to...

Ocwen, Seeking Volume, Explores FHA Servicing Buys.(News)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Kate Berry Washington-Ocwen Financial Corp., best known for servicing subprime mortgages, is looking to buy servicing rights for Federal Housing Administration loans, underscoring the pivotal role the agency has come to play in the...

Prepays Hurting PHH's Net.(News)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Brad Finkelstein Mount Laurel, NJ-PHH Corp. here was a victim of mortgage servicing rights prepayments as the company's first-quarter net income was well below that from the same period one year prior. The $118 million segment...

SERVICING PEOPLE.(News)
June 1, 2009... CALIFORNIA Beverly Hills-Kennedy Wilson Auction Group said that Anthony Bains has been named vice president, business development. Prior to his position at LandCap Partners, Mr. Bains worked for Sky Cos., a homebuilder in Los Angeles,...

Index Tool Measures Home Prices & REO Sales.(Managing REO)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Amilda Dymi Jacksonville, FL-At least one expert finds the foreclosure crisis has created demand for improved housing valuation and pricing tools that allow for more intelligent and sustainable business decisions. Nima Nattagh,...

Homebuyers Find Deals Online.(Managing REO)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Rainbow City, AL-Mark DeGolyer and Ruthe Joyner DeGolyer had never purchased a home through a real estate auction before, let alone through an online auction. Like many people who first consider purchasing a...

Levin Re-Establishes Commercial REO Service in NJ.(Managing REO)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Harmon North Plainfield, NJ-The retail real estate industry in today's downcycle is facing the difficult reality of property defaults, foreclosures and bankruptcy proceedings. As a result, many lenders, financial...

Foreclosures Booming in First Quarter of 2009.(Managing REO)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Irvine, CA-Foreclosure activity is picking up again following initiatives by national and state lawmakers to save borrowers and stop massive amounts of properties from moving into foreclosure and REO. ...

Laws May Have Unintended Consequences.(Managing REO)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Dallas-Tension is evident in the mortgage servicing industry and federal regulators along with state lawmakers and consumer protection groups are coming after servicers, according to speakers on the legislative...

Website Aims to Turn Vacant Houses into Model Homes.(Managing REO)(Website overview)
June 1, 2009... Boca Raton, FL-A concerned citizen, Valerie Szymaniak, who has worked in real estate for more than 20 years, recently launched a new website (www.myvacanthouse.com) to help reduce the adverse impact that vacant homes for sale have on...

RealtyTrac Launches Renter Foreclosure Alerts.(Managing REO)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Irvine, CA-RealtyTrac here is launching a new service called RealtyTrac Renter Alerts that gives tenants advance notice when the property they are renting enters into default or is about to be foreclosed by a...

Foreclosures Still Accelerating.(News)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Mark Fogarty & Bonnie Sinnock Chicago-Experts in both servicing and origination last month had seen some signs of improvement in the housing market but questioned the extent to which these might stabilize foreclosures during a...

Freddie Mac's Docs Guidelines Remain Unchanged By Foreclosure Crisis.(Special Report)
June 1, 2009... Byline: James Comtois Washington-Should mortgage documents and forms be updated to reflect lessons learned from an ongoing market crisis? A negative answer may not convince everyone, it, however, is the case with at least one...

Primary, Secondary Market Maximize Use of Data Pools.(Special Report)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Amilda Dymi Stamford, CT-It appears the industry is fulfilling demand for transparency and coherence in customer credit reporting and asset risk evaluation through data pools that maximize the use of existing resources - both in...

Data Custody.(Special Report)
June 1, 2009... Like never before, data gathering, reporting and custody are in the spotlight. The industry is investing in transparency efforts designed to ensure information is not lost during the life of a mortgage asset. The goal is to provide banks,...

Things to Watch For.(Editorial)
June 1, 2009... Servicing plays a large part in the secondary market, as servicers handle the loans ultimately owned by investors. So servicers should take a keen interest in efforts to restart what is now a stalled market. Executives of the Mortgage...

Penalty Restrictions Will Apply to High-Cost Mortgages.(Speed Watch)
June 1, 2009... Byline: Jennifer Harmon Prepayment penalties, once the rage of mortgage originators, will soon face near demise, according to Jonathan Foxx, president and managing director of Long Beach, N.Y.-based Lenders Compliance Group, a risk...

Loan Modification Disbursement Tally; (Dollars in Millions).
June 1, 2009... Name of Servicer City State Loan Mod Money Chase Home Finance Iselin NJ $3,552 Wells Fargo Bank Des Moines IA $2,873 CitiMortgage O'Fallon MO $2,071 Countrywide Home Loans/BoA Simi Valley CA $1,864 Bank of America (1) Simi...