Foreclosure Deals, an online provider of foreclosed home sale listings and information industry, has announced that foreclosures increased by four percent nationwide during July and still have fallen in the month of August. The month's total of 325,225 homes represents a 10 percent decrease from foreclosure totals in June 2009, and indicate that the trend of rising bank repossessions is continuing well into the summer.Read more

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), and for yet another week, fixed-rate mortgages reached record lows, as did the five-year adjustable rate in this survey. The 30-year fixed-rate survey began in 1971, the 15-year began in 1991, and the five-year adjustable in 2005.Read more

Donna Demello has pleaded guilty in federal court in Oakland to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. At the time of the offense, Demello worked as an escrow officer at Stewart Title in Milpitas, Calif. Demello, currently of San Jose, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 13, 2010. She and five others, including James Delbert McConville, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.Read more

The July Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) shows that foreclosure starts are on the rise, with seriously delinquent loans—those six or more months delinquent—dominating new foreclosure actions. The increase in foreclosure starts is consistent with the Department of Treasury's latest report that approximately half of all Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) trial modifications resulted in cancellation, though 45.4 percent of those have resulted in alternative (non-HAMP) modifications.Read more

HOPE NOW, the private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors estimates the industry has completed 1.13 million permanent loan modifications for at-risk homeowners so far in 2010. For the month of July, the data shows the industry completed more than 120,000 proprietary loan modifications for homeowners, which closely matched the number from the previous month. As reported by U.S. Treasury Department, mortgage servicers also completed 36,695 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) modifications in July.Read more

U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced an agreement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders to offer selected state and local governments, and non-profit organizations a “first look” or right of first refusal to purchase foreclosed homes before making these properties available to private investors. The National First Look Program is a first-ever public-private partnership agreement between HUD and the National Community Stabilization Trust (Stabilization Trust).Read more

National Mortgage Forensic Loan Auditors (NMFLA) , a firm that specializes in residential and commercial loan audit services, has recently opened its doors to homeowners and consumers allowing the public to obtain these services directly from the firm via educational products. NMFLA wants to expand and concentrate their efforts on helping the general population more effectively, obtain loan modifications and ensure enforceable loans.Read more

Guaranteed Home Mortgage Company Inc., a national residential mortgage investment and banking firm, has announced the establishment of a new office in Rockefeller Plaza to anchor its New York business and provide a base of operations to vigorously pursue a retail origination platform in Manhattan. Neil Bader, Guaranteed's national retail sales director and a Manhattan resident, will be permanently located there, supplementing the company's retail operations from White Plains, N.Y. to Manhattan to emphasize Guaranteed's commitment to the co-op and condo market.Read more

Credit Plus Inc., a leader in the credit information industry since 1928, has announced that it is offering a suite of products to help lenders comply with the more stringent selling requirements that Freddie Mac announced in its Aug. 16 Bulletin 2010-19. “Making the mortgage process easier for lenders is our focus at Credit Plus. New requirements and rules are constantly being introduced, which is why we are so vigilant about developing tools that keep lenders compliant.Read more

During a wide ranging interview with WNBC news anchor Chuck Scarborough, Charles Wimer, chairman of the New York State Title Economic and Research Committee, stated that the New York real estate market has bottomed out and bargain hunters will start looking for deals in both residential and commercial sectors. While noting that real estate prices remain substantially down Wimer told Scarborough that commercial activity exceeds residential sales.Read more