Loss mitigation

Bank of America has paid more than $2.1 billion in consumer relief in the second quarter, making strides in paying the mortgage crisis-related penalties imposed by the Justice Department, an independent monitor announced Tuesday.

Investor expectations for preparing real estate owned properties for conveyance vary wildly and demand a tailored approach from servicers.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have put billions of dollars' worth of distressed mortgage assets up for sale this year, but small buyers acquiring carve-outs of these offerings are driving activity in this niche market.

Communication between homeowners and their servicers remains the most frequently reported challenge for housing counselors, the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program said.

While banks have significantly decreased their problem assets from their 2010 peak, sour credits remain much higher than in 2006. A number of banks have been reluctant to sell these assets because of low interest rates and a struggle to find better investments.

A Fair Housing Act lawsuit allowed to stand against a lender degrees removed from the alleged injury is one example of how broadly defined discrimination laws will open an abyss of litigation.

Freddie Mac has agreed to sell $1.1 billion of seriously delinquent nonperforming loans that had been serviced by Ocwen Financial.

Loan performance has improved since the housing crisis. But credit challenges persist, while higher housing costs combined with a plateau in wages have put increased strain on some borrowers' finances.

The rising costs to service mortgages reflects a market where there are not only downsides to being too small, but hurdles to being too large — raising the question of whether there's a middle ground where servicers are not too big, not too small, but just right.

If you have a modified mortgage made around the time of the U.S. housing market’s peak, Cerberus Capital Management probably wants to buy it.