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Executive ViewDetermining Value is the Key to Maximizing New ProgramsPerspectives by Bill Sullivan 
- Lenders Can Maximize Revenue From Government Investment and Modification Programs by Automating Valuations - The first quarter of 2009 was marked by the release of many programs and proposals from the government designed to protect homeowners, restore capital to banks and kick-start lending. Three new announcements in March will have a particular impact on servicers and lenders. The Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), announced March 22, promises to kick-start investment into troubled or toxic loan portfolios. Related to PPIP, the Federal Standard Accounting Board (FASB) announced changes to mark-to-market accounting standards, which outlines methods banks could revalue assets to more closely reflect their pre-recession value. Finally, all participants in the government's Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) will be required to apply Net Present Value (NPV) tests for any home at risk of foreclosure. Featured StoryMaguire Negotiates Property With ServicerBy James Comtois 
LOS ANGELES-Maguire Properties, a real estate investment trust here, and its joint venture partner, Macquarie Office Trust, have entered into negotiations with the special servicer under the CMBS financing covering the Quintana campus in Irvine, Calif., in anticipation of a possible payment default. According to the REIT, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as receiver for Washington Mutual Bank, relinquished the majority of its Quintana lease effective March 2009 and was not obligated to pay any rent or other compensation in connection with the lease termination. Generic Servicing Assets
Click here for more detail. A Day in the Life of a...Mortgage Executive, Foreclosed Pet RescuerBy Amilda Dymi 
Like most of us, Cheryl Lang looks forward to her Saturday mornings. Unlike most of us, the president of Houston-based Integrated Mortgage Solutions and founder of "No Paws Left Behind" - who has the passion and dedication to simultaneously run two businesses - starts her workweek on Saturday. Cheryl's everyday life has been busier and more rewarding than ever since she founded No Paws Left Behind (www.nopawsleftbehind.org) in 2008. Between IMS, her asset management for-profit company, and the nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing foreclosed pets, her days are filled with fast decision-making activity. It was during her work with IMS, trying to help homeowners facing foreclosure and foreclosure risk, that she realized nobody was coordinating that effort with assistance for the pets they willingly, or unwillingly, left behind. Cheryl initiated the nonprofit using IMS systems. "Information coming to us from our field reps indicated there was some sort of a pet crisis going on once the owners evicted the property and nobody knew exactly how to deal with it." |
Free NewsletterSign up for our complimentary email newsletterEnter your email here to sign up for Mortgage Servicing News Bulletin, our free semimonthly email newsletter. Inside TakeObama Plan Comes with FeesBy Paul Muolo 
The last thing in the world mortgage bankers want right now is to pay millions of dollars in assessments to fund a new regulatory agency that will tell them to watch their "P's and Q's" when it comes to originating loans. Then again, it can be argued that if lenders - and their investment bankers on Wall Street - had been carefully underwriting nontraditional loans during the boom of 2003 to 2007 the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency wouldn't be on the birthing table. But it is. So, what to make of the CFPA, an idea unleashed by the White House last week? First off, let's state the obvious to readers who don't know how things work inside the Beltway: the president proposes a massive restructuring of something (in this case the financial regulatory structure of our nation's lenders) and then lobbyists start working their contacts on Capitol Hill and in the administration to defeat the parts they don't like (which is most of it). Editor's NoteModifications: Still Quantifying What is DoableBy Amilda Dymi 
The Home Affordable Modification program is challenging lenders and servicers with the goal to assist up to 9 million distressed borrowers. Is this number realistic or misleading? Market veterans like Tim Anderson, president of Houston-based e-mortgage services provider SigniaDocs, are a little skeptical about the scale of modifications. "The numbers will vary depending upon the type of modification, how they [borrowers] were contacted and most importantly, how easy it was to execute once received," he said. Servicing HeadlinesCal Pension Group Seeking Servicer for Mortgage ProgramJuly 2, 2009 The California State Teachers' Retirement System is searching for a master servicer for its home loan program. Click here for more.Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Get OK on 125% LTVJuly 2, 2009 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have received the green light from their regulator to refinance underwater homeowners with loan-to value ratios as high as 125%. Click here for more.Relatively Few First Quarter 2008 Mods Found CurrentJuly 1, 2009 Less than three in 10 mortgages that were modified by servicers in the first quarter of 2008 are still current, according to a new "mortgage metrics" report released by the Comptroller of the Currency. Click here for more.Trial Period May Be Reducing Number of ModificationsJuly 1, 2009 The number of completed loan modifications has fallen in April and May as servicers put more loans through a 90-day trial period as required by the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification program. Click here for more.Freddie Mac Seen Awaiting Approval of New Chief ExecutiveJuly 1, 2009 Freddie Mac's board of directors has selected Charles E. Haldeman Jr., a top executive at Putnam Investments, to be its next chief executive, according to a source familiar with the matter. Click here for more. |
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Managing REO
Click the image above to start a video of editor Jennifer Harmon introducing the latest issue of Managing REO. |
Headlines from the Current Issue of Managing REO
Read about specific steps asset managers take to keep an REO property in tip-top shape. Michael Newman, president and CEO of Golub & Co., shares his take on how loan servicers or workout specialists should actively work with ownership to know a collateralized asset from the inside-out. Servicers are complaining that the Obama administration is restructuring its housing rescue plan so that servicers are required to compare modifications to short sales as well as foreclosures. |
