Servicing

With Bank of America methodically dismantling the Countrywide home loan machine, someone else is going to have to service all the loans it used to buy. Who'll it be?

Mortgage servicing industry executives have all been voicing their opinions recently about whether the REO-to-rental strategy initiated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency will help spur any type of housing recovery. Many have supported this initiative because renting properties is in greater demand now since many buyers are skeptical about the economy.

A listing agent gets assigned a bank-owned listing in a great neighborhood. A week or two passes while the bank's asset manager determines a list price. Meanwhile, the listing agent fields telephone calls from prospective purchasers and other agents.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finally gave lenders the green light on Monday that their automated underwriting systems are ready to process HARP 2.0 loans.

Vacant property registration and property ordinances have been an integral part of judicially sanctioned enforcement efforts in communities for some time. These municipal rulings serve to protect citizens from neighborhood blight, the ensuing rise in criminal activity and the resulting deflation in property values so common in areas with high foreclosure rates.

I just came across an article posted on the Community Associations Network website tallying the top 10 condo and HOA news stories of 2010. What made the top of the list? Revenue shortages.

The New York Investment firm Prospect Capital Corp. has agreed to acquire a majority stake in specialty-finance company, First Tower Corp., for roughly $266 million.

The consumer default rate on first mortgages declined by six basis points in February from January and by 43 basis points when compared with February 2011, the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices showed.

Congress has restored a housing counseling fund for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after eliminating it in 2011 and at almost half of the $88 million approved during the first two years of the Obama administration. Now HUD officials worry about the amount of settlement dollars to be used for counseling.

Dan Magder, a director of acquisitions for Lone Star Funds, has quit the investment firm to focus on what he calls a "REO-to-rental investment opportunity."