Servicing

MacKenzie Patterson Fuller Inc., San Francisco, and its affiliates have announced an offer to buy up to 500,000 shares of AmeriVest Properties common stock for $4 per share.The price represents a premium of 9.59% over the stock's closing price on Oct. 28, and a premium of 13.54% over the trailing 10-day average closing price, MPF said. The company and its affiliates now own approximately 329,350 shares of AmeriVest. When added to the 500,000 shares sought via the offer, it would result in ownership of about 3.45% of that company's outstanding shares, MPF said. The company can be found online at http://www.mpfi.com.

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., the holding company for IndyMac Bank FSB, has reported earnings of $79.3 million ($1.18 per share) for the third quarter under generally accepted accounting principles, compared with $49.7 million ($0.78 per share) a year earlier.IndyMac produced a record $17.0 billion of mortgage loans in the third quarter, up 64% from the level of a year earlier, the company said. "Taking out the $0.05 per share costs related to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, IndyMac's earnings would have been $1.23 per share, our best ever on an operating basis, exceeding the $1.21 per share operating run rate we reported last quarter," said Michael W. Perry, IndyMac's chairman and chief executive officer. The mortgage pipeline totaled a record $8.9 billion as of Sept. 30, up 39% from that of a year earlier, the company said. IndyMac can be found online at http://www.indymacbank.com.

Twelve classes from five issues of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp. mortgage-backed securities have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: series 1997-2, class B-4, from B-plus to CC; series 2001-2, classes B-3 and B-4, from B to CC; series 2002-5 G4, class IVB2, from A to BBB, class IVB3, from A to BBB, class IVB4, from BBB to BB, and class IVB5, from CCC to C; series 2002-18 G2, class IIB3, from BBB-plus to BB, class IIB4, from BB to CCC, and class IIB5, from CCC to C; and series 2002-24 G1, class IB3, from BBB to BB, and class IB4, from CCC to C. In addition, Fitch upgraded 16 classes and affirmed the ratings on 28 others from 11 CSFB issues. The downgrades reflect the deterioration of credit enhancement relative to monthly losses, which have been consistent or rising, the rating agency said. The mortgage loans consist of fixed and adjustable-rate, 15- and 30-year mortgages extended to prime borrowers and are secured by first and second liens, primarily on one- to four-family residential properties.

A study that examines the prevalence of real estate foreclosure sales and the depth of discounts around the United States has been released by First American Real Estate Solutions, Anaheim, Calif.The company said the study quantifies the correlation between foreclosures as a percentage of total sales and the size of the discounts buyers typically receive when purchasing foreclosure properties. For example, foreclosure sales accounted for 1.6% of total sales in the first half of 2005 in Maricopa County, Ariz., and the median discount was 6.3%, whereas such sales represented 7.9% of total sales in St. Louis, and the median discount was 29.5%, First American RES reported. The study, titled "Residential Foreclosures: The Prevalence, the Power and the Opportunity," was conducted by Christopher Cagan, director of research and analytics at First American RES. The company can be found online at http://www.firstamres.com.

Fannie Mae has mortgage relief provisions in place for Florida borrowers facing hardships as a result of widespread flooding and damage caused by Hurricane WilmaUnder Fannie Mae's disaster relief provisions, lenders can suspend mortgage payments for up to three months, reduce payments for up to 18 months, or in more severe cases, create longer loan payback plans. Fannie Mae's servicing guidelines also advise lenders to counsel borrowers on all possible mortgage payment workout options, and to inform homeowners of disaster relief available from federal agencies. Payment relief is available for single-family mortgages, including condos, serviced by Fannie Mae lenders in areas affected by the hurricane. Holders of Fannie Mae mortgage securities will be paid as usual during the relief period. Mortgage lenders doing business with Fannie Mae should determine appropriate relief steps by considering any uninsured losses, extended unemployment, and extraordinary expenses related to the storms that affect mortgage payments, the government-sponsored enterprise said. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Sunset Financial Resources Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Jacksonville, Fla., has reported the hiring of Banc of America Securities LLC as a financial adviser to review its business plan.The mortgage REIT's president and chief executive officer, George Deehan, said the move comes after the appointment of a new management team and the addition of two more independent directors to its board in recent months. In view of the management changes, "now is an opportune time to analyze the company's business plan and all strategic alternatives available to the company," Mr. Deehan said. The REIT can be found online at http://www.sunsetfinancial.net.

Fannie Mae acquired $70.6 billion in mortgages during September, by far the best purchase month of the year for the government-sponsored enterprise.However, the mortgage giant -- which is dealing with an $11 billion accounting scandal -- saw its retained portfolio drop 20% to $727.8 billion. (The comparison is with portfolio numbers from the same month last year.) During September, Fannie Mae out-purchased its chief rival, Freddie Mac, by about $8 billion. Even though Fannie bought more loans than Freddie, the difference between their retained portfolios is down to just $43 billion: $727 billion for Fannie, and $684 billion for "little brother" Freddie. Fannie Mae can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.

Five classes of notes issued by Pacific Coast CDO Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: class A, from AAA to AA; class B, from BBB-minus to B; class C-1, from B-minus to C; class C-2, from B-minus to C; and preference shares, from CC to C. Pacific Coast is a collateralized debt obligation that consists of 50.7% residential mortgage-backed securities, 17.3% asset-backed securities, 16.1% commercial MBS, 9.2% corporate bonds, and 6.8% CDOs. Since Fitch's last rating action on Aug. 31, the portfolio "has continued to deteriorate," Fitch said, pointing to large exposures in the manufactured housing and aircraft sectors that have led to the downgrading of approximately 28.2% of the portfolio. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Freddie Mac is suspending mortgage payments and providing other short-term financial relief to borrowers affected by Hurricane Wilma.Servicers may reduce or suspend mortgage payments for up to 12 months for borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages in the declared major-disaster areas. "The relief measures are intended to expedite the release of insurance proceeds to help borrowers secure materials, labor and other resources to get the home repair process under way," said Richard F. Syron, Freddie Mac's chairman and chief executive officer. Freddie Mac said it is encouraging servicers to waive assessments of penalties or late fees against borrowers with disaster-damaged homes and not to report forbearance or delinquencies caused by the disaster to the nation's credit bureaus.

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has reported consolidated net earnings of $634 million ($1.03 per share) for the third quarter, a 27% increase from $498 million ($0.81 per share) in the third quarter of last year that was attributed mainly to the company's mortgage segment.Pretax earnings by the mortgage banking operations totaled $703 million in the third quarter, up 42% from $496 million a year earlier. "This increase resulted primarily from a $280 million improvement in servicing sector earnings, partially offset by an $83 million decrease in production sector earnings," said Angelo R. Mozilo, Countrywide's chairman and chief executive officer. Loan production in the mortgage segment totaled $131 billion, up sharply from $77 billion in the third quarter of 2004. "The increase in loan volume resulted in a $37 billion increase in loans sold," Mr. Mozilo said. "The benefit of the increase in sales, however, was more than offset by the decline in margins." Countrywide said its servicing portfolio rose to a record $1.05 trillion as of Sept. 30, up $262 billion from the level of a year earlier.