Servicing

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has announced that its primary subsidiary, Countrywide Home Loans, has purchased two buildings near the Tampa International Airport to expand its corporate offices into Florida.Countrywide said it expects to make a capital investment of $20 million to $25 million, including the purchase of the building shells and property for more than $15.9 million. Patrick Benton, the company's managing director of corporate real estate administration, said the move was part of Countrywide's growth strategy to search for new office locations in business-friendly states. "In addition to the government support of targeted business development in Florida, we were attracted by the proximity of these two buildings to the airport, allowing for the convenient handling of documents that will come to this location from Countrywide offices around the country," Mr. Benton said. The company can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.

Mortgage lenders added 3,000 full-time employees to their payrolls in August as home sales remained strong and refinancing picked up.Employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector rose from 522,200 in July to 525,200 in August, according to the Oct. 7 job report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (There is a one-month lag in BLS reporting of mortgage-sector employment data. The September data will be released Nov. 4.) Since August 2004, employment in the mortgage industry has grown by 9.3% with the addition of 44,300 new hires. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy lost 35,000 jobs in September in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, raising the unemployment rate to 5.1%, up from 4.9% in August. The effects of Hurricane Rita should show up in October's job report. The BLS can be found online at http://stats.bls.gov.

Foreclosure filings in Massachusetts were nearly a third higher through August than in the comparable period of last year, according to ForeclosuresMass, Framingham, Mass.Statewide foreclosures were 32.8% higher in the period of January through August than the levels recorded in the same months of 2004, the online data provider reported. "We have seen a remarkable spike in the past few months," said Jeremy Shapiro, president and co-founder of ForeclosuresMass. "Looking forward, it will be interesting to see how unprecedented increases in the cost of home heating fuel and gas, coupled with other pressures on mortgagees, will impact foreclosures in the months to come." The company can be found online at http://www.foreclosuresmass.com.

Nehemiah Corporation of America, a privately funded provider of downpayment assistance gifts based in Sacramento, Calif., has pledged $1.6 million to aid victims of the hurricanes of 2005.Nehemiah said it plans to combine its DPA program, community reinvestment fund, community foundation, and urban ministry program, along with support from other partners, to meet the needs of middle- to lower-income market borrowers often overlooked by the large banks. According to a Nehemiah spokesman, customer benefits include interest rates between 6% and 9% and loans that average $300,000. In addition, most of the capital will be available to developers with interest rates as low as 3% to 4%.

The Calvert Foundation, Bethesda, Md., has announced that it will direct Calvert Community Investment notes to help rebuild communities in the Gulf Coast region devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.The capital raised through the notes will be used to assist with the redevelopment of affordable homes and the financing of community facilities. The foundation said its investment dollars will be placed with a broad range of private and public efforts in the Gulf Coast region, such as the Hope Community Development Credit Union in New Orleans and the Southern Mutual Help Association, which serves rural Louisiana. "We want to support local organizations -- accountable to the communities they serve -- to foster long-term revitalization and more equitable development," said foundation director Shari Berenbach. For more information about CCI notes, go to http://www.calvertfoundation.org.

Bank of America is lending a helping hand to the Gulf Coast areas devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita by investing $100 million in a "community development banking" effort to rebuild affordable housing and revitalize neighborhoods.BoA said it will also make available 200 apartments to displaced families in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas. The CDB initiative includes $60 million in new construction and redevelopment loans dedicated to secure affordable housing units, and $40 million for affordable housing development and community revitalization through tax credit investments. In addition, BoA said it will partner with nonprofits like The Enterprise Social Investment Corp. and the National Equity Fund.

Three classes from two Delta Funding Corp. home equity transactions have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: series 2000-1, class B, from CC to C; and series 2000-3, class M-2, from A to A-minus, and class B, from B-minus to C. In addition, Fitch upgraded two classes and affirmed the ratings on seven classes from four Delta issues. "Due to performance triggers that are in breach in all the transactions, principal distributions on the certificates are currently applied in a sequential order," Fitch reported. This generally results in lower credit risk for the more senior tranches, the rating agency said. "There is, however, a higher degree of risk associated with the lower priority of payment to the subordinate classes, represented by the downgrades in series 2000-1 and series 2000-3," Fitch explained. The collateral for the deals consists of both fixed- and adjustable-rate subprime mortgages.

Operation Hope Inc. and the Federal Emergency Management Agency have announced the formation of Project Restore Hope, an economic recovery initiative for Hurricane Katrina victims that includes assistance in deferring mortgage payments.The project will provide economic assistance as well as free financial counseling online, in communities housing disaster evacuees, at FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Los Angeles, and over the phone from call center facilities in Dallas and Poway, Calif. Project Restore Hope will be managed through OHI's emergency recovery division, Hope Coalition America, which is recruiting "Hope Corps volunteers" with financial and accounting backgrounds. The volunteers will provide assistance in deferring mortgage payments, working with creditors, and filing insurance claims, as well as emergency budget guidance and credit management. "FEMA has formed a relationship with Operation Hope and Hope Coalition because they offer a unique and much-needed set of services, aimed at limiting the economic impact on individuals affected by these disasters," said David Garratt, acting director of FEMA's Recovery Division. OHI can be found online at http://www.operationhope.org.

Freddie Mac said it could lose up to $300 million due to property damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.The mortgage giant said the anticipated loss is tied to its guarantee of principal and interest payments on participation certificates (PCs) that are collateralized by mortgages in three of the hardest-hit states: Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Less than 1% of Freddie's guaranteed portfolio was affected by hurricane-related damage. The loss would be booked in the third quarter as a charge against earnings. "This represents most of the losses we anticipate from the hurricanes," said a company spokesman. Meanwhile, at MortgageWire's deadline, the government-sponsored enterprise announced that it would buy back up to $2 billion worth of its common stock, depending on market conditions. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Foreclosures jumped 14% in New York and Chicago in August, and 19% in Los Angeles, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace based in Irvine, Calif.The surge in New York foreclosures -- 2,223 properties entered some stage of foreclosure in August -- followed two consecutive months of declines. "The increase could turn out to be a one-month spike, but if foreclosures continue to rise in the coming months, that may signal a significant shift in New York City's real estate market," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer. In the Chicago area, Cook County reported 2,149 foreclosures, one for every 975 properties, RealtyTrac reported. "While foreclosures nationwide dipped slightly in August, Chicago and several other major metropolitan areas reported more foreclosures," Mr. Saccacio said. "If foreclosures continue to increase in major metropolitan areas, it could be a signal that more homeowners in those typically high-priced areas are reaching the ceiling of what they can afford." In Los Angeles, 1,232 foreclosures were reported in August, one for every 2,655 households. "Since May, when there were only 771 foreclosures, the city has reported more than 1,000 foreclosures each month," Mr. Saccacio said. RealtyTrac can be found online at http://www.realtytrac.com.