Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

The relationship between housing finance and the government has been a hotly debated topic from Wall Street to Main Street since the mortgage crisis began, and the recently released white paper from AllianceBernstein provides a critical look at the role of private capital in reducing the housing market's dependence on Capitol Hill.

California tops a list of states for mortgage fraud activity, as the state├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós courts pursue more cases against alleged frausters, MortgageDaily.com found in an index it released Wednesday. The Web site documented activity in FraudBlogger.com, a mortgage fraud blog. While California claimed the top spot, New York and Florida also found themselves perched considerably high on the index, followed shortly by South Carolina and Minnesota. New York ranked second by dollar volume in mortgage fraud at $199,600,000.

In Seattle, Washington, one lender has cause for celebration as we head into the new year. West Coast Bank has been named as the recipient of the 2011 Community Spirit Award, which is given annually by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle. The special honor is extended yearly to a financial institution that is recognized as exemplifying the spirit of community partnership in creating affordable housing and economic development opportunities in its immediate region.

The commercial real estate market in the U.S. appears set for an uptick in 2012, but don't expect a headline-making rise. According to recent research from Jones Lang LaSalle, economic indicators are pointing to a modest improvement in the commercial segment, and data from the company also reveals that rumors of a double dip in the sector during the coming year were premature. Numbers from the survey call for an increase in total transaction volume of 15 to 20 percent.

Borrowers using Mortgage Lenders USA will now have the advantage of faster quotes when seeking a mortgage. The company announced recently that it would initiate a 24-hours or less policy in extending a mortgage quote to inquiring parties.

In Georgia, Flagstar Bancorp has officially sold its 27-branch retail bank franchise to PNC Bank, N.A. The deal, which was announced earlier this year, has reached its conclusion, and PNC Bank will now take possession of all leases associated with the locations, as well as all associated business and retail deposits. The purchase agreement for its Georgia locations follows Flagstar's December sell off of its Indiana branches. The total number of bank franchises sold stands at 49.

Courts across the country slapped defendants with charges over mortgage fraud this week, as a title agent, her husband, and a Brockton man received charges and a so-called kingpin from New York saw the next four to 12 years of his life consigned to prison. MReport culled stories from multiple news outlets to deliver the mortgage fraud blotter Friday for the past week. Acts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft populated the accounts of defendants and convicts alike.

Just in time for bowl season, StreetLinks Lender Solutions has released an updated version of SCORe, the company's appraisal review product. The original incarnation of SCORe was launched in 2010 to provide a solution for the validation of comparable within appraisal documents, and the platform expansion will include the addition of a repurchase and loss warranty with each report.

The results are in from the November 2011 Housing Scorecard. In addition to the report's traditional look at the country├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós real estate and mortgage markets, the most recent survey also closely examined the nation's 10 largest mortgage servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program, to promote transparency related to the platform's performance.

Senate Republicans stood by their 44-member pledge Thursday by blocking a vote scheduled for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director-nominee Richard Cordray. Fifty-three votes fell below the 60-vote threshold needed to move the full Senate toward a vote to either confirm or reject the former Ohio attorney general, without whom the CFPB is unable to exert the array of powers granted it to supervise nonbank financial institutions. Forty-four Republicans pledged earlier to deny a director.