Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

In international real estate news, True Green Energy Group (TGEG) is teaming up with the president and CEO of Universal Resources Development Incorporated (URD) to create housing projects in the Philippines. TGEG, which is based in the country, will become partners with Paul Lu of URD in the development, in collaboration with CJ Consortium Group, Inc., and its various partners.

In California, one city is on the decline, with San Diego reporting an 8 percent drop in home sales year-over-year for the month of October. The survey from The Berkland Group notes that the shrinking housing numbers in the city didn't discriminate, affecting all price ranges, but having the greatest impact on the upper end of the real estate market among homes priced between $500,000 and $900,000.

The 2011 national tally for bank failures crested at 88 with the closure of a financial institution in Georgia Thursday. The Community Bank of Rockmart added to the state's litany of bank failures by shuttering with $62.4 million in total assets and $55.9 million in total deposits. State regulators closed the bank and appointed the FDIC as receiver. The FDIC swooped in to cover the $14.5 million-bill left behind by the bank failure. The failure in Rockmart boosts both the national and state tallies, with the latter climbing to 23, keeping Georgia the leader in 2011 closures.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a buyer for $15 billion in mortgage servicing rights from the financial institution, with the announcement that Ocwen Financial Corp. would purchase the bank's MSRs for a rumored $950 million. Ocwen's acquisition follows the company's decision to raise $375 million in new equity through offering 25 million shares of public common stock.

Ellie Mae has appointed a new chief operating officer, with the announcement that Jonathan Corr will be taking over the executive role. Corr has previously been responsible for the company's corporate and product strategy in his position as Ellie Mae├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós executive vice president and chief strategy officer.

As pressure builds to repeal the Dodd-Frank Act, one lawmaker pushed back by formally requesting an analysis of the rulemaking effort and financial consequences under the financial legislative overhaul. Sen. Tim Johnson wrote two letters to public officials Thursday to make the request, with clear intentions to secure a formal, objective analysis that lends credibility to the financial law and overall rulemaking process. Included agencies in the requested analyses: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Housing Finance agency.

Fielding more pressure for housing finance reform, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) introduced a bill Wednesday that aims to decouple government assistance from the GSEs and shore up private-sector involvement in mortgage markets. The bill, titled the Residential Mortgage Market and Privatization Act, proposes gradually reducing the percentage of principal in the GSEs├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó mortgage-backed securities, streamlining underwriting standards and origination databases, and removing federal guarantees to create a much-discussed to-be-announced market.

The Home Builders Institute has named a new president and CEO, with the announcement that John A. Courson will take over leadership of the non-profit organization. Capitalizing on his extensive industry experience, HBI will utilize Courson to target new revenue opportunities and program development.

If a new Senate bill becomes law, it could finally create a long-awaited covered bond market for the nation, effectively making mortgages easier to securitize and increasing their appeal for investors. Earlier Wednesday a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Kay Hagan and Bob Corker, introduced the United States Covered Bond Act of 2011 in order to kick-start what some regard as necessary for a full-fledged housing recovery. European nations have long benefited from a covered bond market, with legal bodies in place for bonds.

A Connecticut attorney, former police officer, and 25 people accused of reaping millions from mortgage fraud all made the mortgage fraud blotter for Wednesday. MReport sourced the stories from a number of news outlets that include the Associated Press, New London Patch, and The Sacramento Bee. The attorney and former police officer each pled guilty to their respective counts, while the ring of fraudsters, largely from a Russian-American community, pled not guilty.