April 2012 Entries
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's two largest mortgage
backers, will implement their new short sale guidelines on June
15. The changes require mortgage servicers to make a decision
within 30 days of receiving a short sale offer. They also must
consider requests for pre-approved short sales within that same
timeframe. If the lender needs more than 30 days, it must give
borrowers weekly status updates and a decision within 60 days of
the initial application. This extension gives lenders more time
to determine the value of the property or to get the approval of
a mortgage insurer. The moves are aimed at streamlining the
short sale process, which...
The golden age for foreclosure squatters may soon be coming
to an end now that the $26 billion mortgage settlement has
been approved.
The settlement, agreed to by the nation's five largest
mortgage lenders, is expected to speed up the foreclosure
process by providing stricter guidelines for the banks to
follow when repossessing homes. The banks involved include
Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and
Ally Financial. Many foreclosures have been in limbo since
fall 2010 following the so-called robo-signing scandal, when
banks allowed employees to sign off on thousands of
foreclosure documents a month with little verification.
Lenders hit the pause button on foreclosures because they
"were afraid that...
Bank of America (BOA) says it's making changes to its short-sale
procedures that will shorten decision times on short sale offers
to 20 days, down from 45 days or longer. The new task flow in
BOA's short-sale management platform, Equator, will enable
short-sale specialists to conduct tasks like document collection,
valuations and underwriting simultaneously. When buyers walk,
agents will have five days instead of 14 days to submit a backup
offer. Bank of America is requiring a new third-party
authorization form for short sales initiated beginning April 14.
When the changes to Equator take effect Saturday, five documents
will be required to process short sales initiated with an offer:
- ...
The $26 billion foreclosure settlement has finally been given the
green light, making it possible for roughly two million of the
nation's hardest hit borrowers to see a significant reduction in
their mortgage payments. Agreed to between the nation's five
largest banks and attorneys general from 49 states and the
District of Columbia, the deal settles charges of foreclosure
processing abuses dating back to 2008. The settlement, the
details of which were first announced in early February, has been
in the works for more than a year. Here's what the banks agreed
to and what borrowers can expect in the days ahead.
The banks and servicers have committed at least...