The owners of a North Idaho mortgage modification company have been prohibited from engaging in loan modification activities with Idaho consumers, as announced by Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. Randy Allen, Clint Paulsen and Travis Smith, who operated HomeModifier in Post Falls, Idaho signed a consent judgment that prevents them from opening a new mortgage modification business in Idaho. HomeModifer and its owners also agreed to pay $7,000 in restitution to reimburse the six consumers who complained to Wasden’s office.Read more

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has announced the filing of 19 criminal complaints and a total of 69 charges against illegal advanced fee "foreclosure rescue" operations accused of defrauding Michigan families of thousands of dollars. Nine Michigan mortgage companies are accused of illegally charging homeowners facing foreclosure upfront fees for mortgage modification assistance. The defendants claimed they would help homeowners by working with their lenders in an attempt to modify the borrower's mortgage.Read more

A new California state law allows taxpayers to immediately exclude from their income the amount of mortgage debt on their home loan that has been forgiven by their lender. The law largely brings California statutes into conformity with current federal law. Previously, California conformed to federal debt relief only for 2007 and 2008, according to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).Read more

Financial Industry Computer Systems Inc. (FICS), a provider of loan origination software, residential loan servicing software and commercial loan servicing software, announced that 11 of its servicing lender clients have been recognized in the Tier One category for the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) Tier Ranking Round 38. Serving as the highest-ranking category available from HUD, the Tier One ranking recognizes those lenders with the best servicing performance in the application of HUD's loss mitigation program.Read more

HOPE LoanPort, the counselor Web-based tool that streamlines submission of completed loan modification applications, including those used for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), has announced that six people will serve on its board of directors. The organization also named its chief executive officer. There are plans to expand the board in the near future to reflect the diversity of the organizations involved with this groundbreaking web portal initiative.Read more

Intelenet Global Services, a leading provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) support services for the mortgage banking industry, announced that it has partnered with SigniaDocs Inc., an eMortgage solutions provider, to offer a comprehensive, scalable eModification solution for lenders and servicers. This online, real-time approach compresses the loan modification process to identify and collect the required documents into a “Mods in Minutes” solution.Read more

United Law Group has filed a complaint in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara, against Bank of America and its subsidiary, Countrywide Home Loans, for breaches of contractual obligations, violation of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts Section 205, emotional distress, and violation of California Business and Professions Code Section 17200. This case states that though John Wright qualified for a mortgage modification under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), he was denied access to the government-sponsored plan.Read more

Chase has announced that it will provide additional help to struggling homeowners by joining the second-lien program of the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The Second-Lien Modification Program, known as 2MP, is designed to work in tandem with HAMP to lower homeowners' payments on both their first and second mortgages.Read more

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has filed two lawsuits against separate out-of-state mortgage modification companies for violating a 2009 state law that prohibits companies that offer to negotiate or modify the terms or conditions of an existing home mortgage from requesting advance payments from homeowners. These are the first lawsuits filed under the new law.Read more

Last year, more than two million Americans lost their homes to foreclosure. This year, that number is expected to be even higher. Foreclosure takes a huge toll on homeowners and their families, and sends shockwaves throughout the economy. Yet since the start of the recession in 2007, more than five million homes have been taken back by lenders. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) estimates that as many as 13 million more homes could fall into foreclosure over the next five years.Read more