Amilda Dymi

It may be a favorable time to review market demand for underutilized rural area financing options such as the USDA program.

Roughly $7.4 billion of fraudulent mortgages will be originated this year, a 40% decline from 2011, a decrease primarily due to significantly lower fundings volumes in 2011, according to a new report from CoreLogic.

All entities that engage in the business of servicing mortgage loans for any property located in New York are up for a new regulatory challenge.

In the second quarter of 2011, the volume of outstanding commercial and multifamily mortgage debt increased by 0.1% marking the first quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2009, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

There is considerable private investor interest in purchasing government-sponsored enterprise debt, speakers at a Financial Services Subcommittee hearing said, but it may take a few government subsidy based incentives to bring new capital into the marketplace.

The government and the mortgage banking industry may need to revisit how they are dealing with third-party service providers. New government regulations focus on banks, not the mortgage servicing community as a whole, says Denis Brosnan, CEO of Atlanta-based Prommis Solutions, and that approach is particularly obvious at the annual Mortgage Bankers Association gatherings.

"Too big to fail" has already failed some of the country's top mortgage banks, and it should mean the "grow or die" strategy that historically has had a strong hold in Wall Street needs some reconsidering.

A government streamlined refinancing program that would reduce monthly mortgage payments for a large number of borrowers appears more likely while insiders fret over new hints on its future and cost burdens on borrowers, the government and investors.

Municipalities are using vacant property registration and code enforcement systems to cut back unprecedented foreclosure inventory management expenses.

As federal funds for credit counseling dry up Wells Fargo & Co. is channeling $12.4 million to counsel distressed borrowers, increasing this year's commitment to national and local counseling agencies by 35%.

A government streamlined refinancing program that would reduce monthly mortgage payments for a large number of borrowers appears more likely while insiders fret over its future cost burdens on borrowers, the government and investors.

Just like their peers in distress, borrowers with disposable income also favor one-on-one banking. Bank of America started implementing the face-to-face approach, so far deemed the most efficient foreclosure prevention tool in the market, to advise customers with $50,000 to $250,000 in "investable assets."

Wells Fargo & Co. has invited 9,500 distressed customers to a two-day Home Preservation workshop scheduled for Sept. 8 and 9 in Atlanta, the city where it introduced one of the bank's first foreclosure prevention workshops in 2009.

Bank of America is hiring financial advisors, including mortgage specialists, as it expands its network of high tech "specialty stores" for customers with $50,000 to $250,000 in "investable assets."

Federally insured problem loans may soon turn into the new delinquency superstars to replace the mortgages originated at the peak of the home price bubble which, according to insiders, are slowly passing through the system despite procedural and litigation stumbling blocks.

In times when the debt crisis requires better economic understanding than ever, nearly eight in every 10 members of Congress lack education in economics or business and may not have housing market knowledge, according to findings from the Employment Policies Institute.

Delinquent homeowners continue to tune out their mortgage servicers while banks struggle with mortgage counseling compensation issues.During the first half of this year a staggering 5.5 million homeowners 60 days or more delinquent had never contacted their bank prompting servicers to send out over 5.5 million Hope Now letters designed to help minimize foreclosure risk.

The North Shore Bank of Wisconsin has introduced a construction loan that promises “lucrative financial rewards” to those who choose to build an energy-efficient home using the new financing option.

Over the next two years JP Morgan Chase will grant $1 million in downpayment assistance as an incentive to police officers and city employees in Detroit who agree to purchase vacant homes and return to the city.

Only a few years ago most of the talk about short sales revolved about how to make the process more efficient - meaning shorter, since on average it lasted anywhere from 60 to 90 days. That worry is a thing of the past.