Foreclosures

Foreclosure starts also fell, coming in below pre-pandemic pace, according to Black Knight.

But a slower-than-anticipated rate of repossessions suggest distressed homeowners are finding solutions.

The opinion heightens the need for servicers to be careful about billing communications, particularly when a distressed loan or foreclosure is involved.

However, higher property values are likely to mitigate any potential large increase in abandonments because troubled borrowers are less likely to walk away.

While the number of loans with payments that have been late for three months or more has fallen, it’s still higher than in early 2020, according to Black Knight.

The 36% consecutive-month drop could mark the start of a period in which a small wave of financially distressed homeowners sell their homes through alternative means, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Roughly 24,000 people had new foreclosures listed on their credit reports in the first quarter, up from about 9,000 three months earlier, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report says. States are trying to cushion the blow on homeowners now that many pandemic-related federal protections have ended.

The legislation, awaiting the governor’s signature, overturns a state court ruling that made it easier for lenders to restart the six-year statute of limitations timeline.

Strong general unemployment gains, student loan deferrals and borrowers enjoying low interest rates secured in the refinance boom contributed to the positive gains.

While numbers have been increasing, it will be some months before they get back to pre-pandemic levels, according to Attom Data Solutions.

Even though the majority of forbearance plans have ended, late payments continued their downward trend in January.

Servicers of Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed loans should hit pause for up to 60 days once they know the borrower has sought relief, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Laws in at least a dozen states allow municipalities or investors to acquire valuable property to satisfy tax liens far below the asset’s value, a legal organization said.

While smaller in number, initiated foreclosures had a similar consecutive-quarter gain as the market transitioned away from pandemic-related relief that has artificially constrained workout activity.

Completions were the one type of activity tracked by Attom that slowed month-to-month, suggesting catch-up actions related to a pre-pandemic overhang of distressed loans.

A California man and his unnamed co-conspirator netted a total of at least $5 million from thousands of homeowners, federal prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, 707,104 mortgages remain in forbearance, accounting for a combined $136 billion in unpaid balances.

Real-estate owned, auction and default activity tracked by Attom have rebounded slightly, but the latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s number for late payments show they’re still very near or at historic lows.

Housing rights advocates said minority home-buyers and homeowners in 39 U.S. metropolitan areas will receive the funds as a result of a legal action alleging racial discrimination in the government-sponsored enterprise's foreclosure practices.

The defendants and an attorney convinced homeowners to hand over their properties while the pair filed bogus claims to keep creditors’ foreclosures at bay.