Servicing

Sales of existing single-family homes jumped 6.7% in November after falling 2% in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Mortgage bankers originated $26.4 billion of Federal Housing Administration-backed loans in November, an 8.2% jump from the prior month, but delinquencies jumped as well.

Mortgage application volume decreased by 18.6% over last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as refinance activity fell by 24% to its lowest level since the end of April, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

FCI Lender Services, Anaheim Hills, Calif., the largest servicer of "private money" loans, said it is adding a new private money lender to its servicing base about every two days or so.

Homeowners that go through a foreclosure are likely to have elevated delinquency rates on other types of consumer credit for many years to come, an effect that has implications for loan modifications, according to a new study from the Federal Reserve.

There is a difference between employees that are happy to have a job and those who enjoy showing up to work every morning. And it is not all about having chosen the right profession. It usually boils down to the right company culture and executive practices.

New data reaffirm that state laws have and will continue to have a noticeable effect on foreclosure rates nationwide and even more so in some of the most the problematic states such as Florida.The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows 262,339 foreclosure filings that include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were filed in November 2010, up 21% from the previous month.

How to use resources more efficiently is a longstanding issue that is bound to challenge servicers as they face another year where foreclosures dominate the marketplace.The sometimes necessary evil of transferring homeownership from the borrower to the lender is recognized as a loss for the economy at large, but the challenge starts with choosing between the twin evils of a foreclosure and short sale.

Wells Fargo & Co., one of six lenders facing a legal challenge in New Jersey's Supreme Court tied to foreclosures and the 'robo-signing' scandal, said it will comply and present its case in early January.

Orange County, Calif., foreclosure starts and sales at auctions are down, but the number of homes that went back to lenders and have not been resold is up over last year, according to a new report from ForeclosureRadar.com.