Servicing

Home prices reached a bottom in the first-half of 2010 and should rise next year, according to a survey of professional economic forecasters released Monday afternoon.

The nation's largest mortgage lenders and servicers are currently in a battle for their lives. They are engaged in implementing new loan quality initiatives to stave off investor buyback request, forensic reviews of past deals for risk assessment and trying to meet the government's demands for aid to troubled borrowers. Little time is left for seeking out new loan origination volume, and yet there is still business out there.

A solid blend of expansive data gathering, in-house expertise and multifaceted analytics that help assess local market values within the overall market context are key to generating the best business decisions.That is a summary of the philosophy behind The Terranova Group model of foreclosed property dispositions. It is designed to manage REOs and sell them, too. Plus, the firm, which specializes in disposition strategies, would accept compensation only after a property moves out of the lender’s book.

The Obama administration said it does not support halting foreclosures nationwide on the grounds that it could delay and hurt a recovery in the housing market.

Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., will hold a committee hearing Nov. 16 to review allegations of improper and fraudulent mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing by the nation's banking companies.

The Treasury Department singled out the three largest banks—Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co.—for failing to properly solicit and consider homeowners for the government's loan modification program.

Bank of America chief executive Brian Moynihan said the servicer's new foreclosure moratorium should only last a few weeks while the firm rechecks the paperwork it submitted in thousands of foreclosure cases.

Recent revelations that Ally Financial and Chase Home Mortgage may've been cutting corners on their foreclosure paperwork have sent the servicing industry into a tizzy with new concerns being raised about massive delays in foreclosure times, and a reduction in company ratings.

Mortgage servicers completed 115,760 proprietary loan modifications in August, down 3.8% from the prior month, according to the Hope Now Alliance.

EverBank Financial Corp., Jacksonville, Fla., a top player in mortgage finance, is planning to sell up to $200 million worth of stock through an initial public offering.