Servicing

Integra Group Real Estate, a brokerage firm specializing in the management and marketing of REO, HUD and distressed properties in Southern Arizona, has created a short sale department to help homeowners avoid possible foreclosure.

A mortgage banking firm specializing in VA loans is trying to sell $4.5 billion of GNMA-backed mortgage servicing rights through Interactive Mortgage Advisors, Denver.

Servicers could end up paying millions more toward the $25 billion mortgage settlement under deal terms that require them to review thousands of foreclosures involving members of the military.

Carrington Capital Management, a unit of Carrington Holding Co., and American Home Mortgage Servicing (AHMSI) have agreed to bring to a close the action filed by Carrington against AHMSI in 2009.

Field service companies must continuously evolve their best practices to develop and maintain the most effective vendor network possible. Key areas of focus are: recruitment, training, diversity and technology.

The California Housing Finance Agency has revised a policy that resulted in it foreclosing on homeowners who were current on payments but had been renting out homes financed through the agency. The policy went into effect last week.

Barclays Capital analysts said in a report released last week that large region-specific note and REO auctions have become a regular feature in the past year.

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have been sued by the law firm Baron and Budd alleging that the financial institutions illegally levied excessive and deceptive default service fees against borrowers who were late on mortgage payments.

Bond insurer MBIA Inc. has admitted to making errors in its application to regulators seeking to split the company in two.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors is offering a $4.5 billion MSR package with another $1 billion in the works. Phoenix Capital is peddling $35 billion of MSRs for Bank of America - with more on that way.