DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/129399
ยป Illinois Angela Robinson REO Team Leader A Division of Elite Properties Chicago 100 Saunders, Suite 150 Lake Forest, IL 60045 847.714.4457 (c) ar@reoelite.com www.reoelite.com FROM THE BENCH Fast-Tracking Foreclosures in Illinois It is no secret that Illinois suffers through one of the lengthiest foreclosure processes in the country, with the average judicial foreclosure taking about two years to complete. The national average, by contrast, is about one year. The problem has become so bad that Illinois is one of only five states in which the Federal Housing Financing Agency is seeking to increase the guarantee fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on home loans. Fortunately, it appears that some relief, though limited, is on its way. Recently, Senate Bill 16 passed the general assembly. It was signed by the governor on February 8 and will become effective June 1, 2013. The main purpose of the bill, as it relates to the foreclosure industry, is to fast-track the foreclosure process on abandoned and vacant homes, while, at the same time, funding foreclosure prevention efforts. The bill works by allowing lenders to file a motion to fast-track foreclosures for singlefamily residences and multifamily buildings that have six units or fewer. Lenders will have to file a supporting affidavit that verifies the subject property meets the definition of abandoned, as provided for in new section 1200.5 of the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law (IMFL). The fast-track is also applicable to unsecure homes that have undergone the initial stages of construction but have not seen any progress for six months. The procedure does not apply to secure buildings that are currently undergoing construction, are on the market, comply with local ordinances, or are subject to an ownership dispute, such as a probate proceeding. The bill's intended policy is to positively affect the neighborhoods surrounding vacant properties by stabilizing property values and the tax base, decreasing the crime rate, and reducing the risk of foreclosure for nearby properties. It is also intended to reduce costs for local governments and the state. This would partially be accomplished by an increased filing fee charged to lenders, the proceeds of which would help fund the Foreclosure Prevention Program and Abandoned Residential Property Relief Program. The bill is estimated to generate an additional $41 million in fees. About 70 percent would be allocated to helping municipalities offset the costs of maintaining and securing abandoned buildings, while the majority of the remaining 30 percent would be allocated to foreclosure prevention programs. The additional filing fee is determined by a system of tiers based upon how many foreclosure complaints a plaintiff has filed on residential real estate located in Illinois in the previous calendar year. Lenders who filed at least 175 complaints will be required to pay an additional $500. Lenders who filed between 50 and 174 complaints will be required to pay an additional $250, and lenders who filed 49 or fewer complaints will be required to pay an additional $50. While, at first glance, these fees appear to be costly to lenders, one must take into account that, if this law works as intended, lenders will be shaving about 17 months off their foreclosure timelines. This "From the Bench" article was contributed by Michael Anselmo, Esq., associate counsel in the default practice of Freedman Anselmo Lindberg, LLC, a full-service creditor's rights firm serving clients in Illinois since 1980. IN THE NEWS 24 Asset, RealtyProx Form Partnership to Offer Short Sale Services Miami, Florida's 24 Asset Management Corp. and RealtyProx Corp., a real estate transaction management company based in Oak Brook, Illinois, formed a partnership to provide an array of short sale services to real estate agents and brokers. According to a company release, services and benefits provided through the partnership include short sale processing, short sale VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM leads and training, short sale marketing, and free short sale processing platform. "We are pleased to announce that the same level of responsible, flexible, and personalized service is now available to short sale agents and brokers," said Don Maxwell, EVP of 24 Asset. By partnering with RealtyProx, 24 Asset says it has enhanced its technical competencies and expanded its technological capabilities in the area of loss mitigation. 24 Asset says it will be accepting short sale agent registrations on-site, at the Short Sale Expo May 3-4 in Palm Desert, California. Indiana rank: 15 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 2.9% Unemployment Rate 3.5% 8.7% year ago 3.1% 4.5% 8.3% year-over-year change -5.0% -22.6% 4.8% Top County SwITzerland CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate February 2013 3.8% 6.7% year ago 4.0% 7.5% year-over-year change -5.3% -11.0% Top Core-Based Statistical area 90+ Day Delinquency Rate loganSporT, In Foreclosure Rate February 2013 4.0% 6.2% year ago 3.7% 6.0% year-over-year change 9.2% 2.6% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the February 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary February 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. STAT INSIGHT 5.6 Months' supply of distressed housing inventory in Indiana as of February month-end. Source: CoreLogic 91