State regulators

A Methuen, Mass., woman was forced to sell her home recently after she fell victim to an apparent scam targeting homeowners who are struggling with their mortgages.

Freddie Mac has priced its first credit-risk transfer securities backed in part by tax-exempt loans used to finance affordable multifamily rental properties.

Deutsche Bank has reached a $95 million settlement with Maryland stemming from the housing crisis that will funnel $80 million to provide new mortgages or mortgage relief to eligible consumers as well as help finance affordable housing.

Auditors performing a review of Ocwen Financial padded time sheets and claimed excessive and improper expenses, including lengthy travel and meals at strip clubs and casinos, according to a lawsuit filed against Fidelity Information Services.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has signed a bill that will expedite foreclosures of vacant and abandoned properties this fall.

Regulators have unfairly targeted Ocwen Financial Corp. with the goal of forcing it to sell its mortgage servicing portfolio to investors that would foreclose on troubled borrowers, claims a prominent mortgage finance analyst.

State regulators felt they were strung along by the mortgage servicing giant Ocwen Financial after years of promises that were never fulfilled, resulting in successive enforcement actions against the company.

To address an unintended consequence of the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures, California regulators are making it easier for lenders to prove compliance with rules limiting interest charges on mortgage closings that take more than one day.

The Property Assessed Clean Energy program entails a priority lien that critics dislike, but one lender ran the numbers and liked them enough to take out a PACE loan itself.

The days of vacant, distressed homes covered in sheets of plywood appear numbered, as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac move toward greater adoption of polycarbonate "clear boarding" to secure foreclosure properties.