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as the favorability of credit conditions should play significant roles in determining if and when many of these renters will see the fruits of their efforts to become homeowners," said Sarah Shahdad, analyst for Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group. FHFA, Citi Reach Settlement in MBS Suit The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and Citigroup have reached a settlement over fraud allegations related to $3.5 billion of mortgage-backed securities (MBS). According to FHFA's original complaint, Citigroup and its affiliates misrepresented the credit quality and gave false statistical summaries of the groups of mortgage loans in securities purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac between September 2005 and May 2007, resulting in "substantial losses" to the GSEs as the loans fell apart. FHFA, acting as conservator for the two mortgage financiers, filed suit against Citigroup and a number of other institutions in 2011 seeking restitution for MBS losses sustained by the GSEs. A spokesperson for FHFA did not comment on the amount of the settlement or the terms, saying that it was "satisfactory." A spokesperson for Citigroup remarked only that the company is "pleased to put this matter behind us." A regulatory filing revealed FHFA has dropped its suit against the bank, having reached a settlement. The filing ends one of FHFA's 18 securities fraud suits filed in 2011, each one involving MBS sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In January, FHFA dropped a suit against General Electric over $549 million in faulty securities. The remaining 16 actions have yet to be resolved, though the agency's spokesperson said FHFA "remains active in settlement discussions with other parties that were subjects of these lawsuits." NeighborWorks Commemorates Ready for National Homeownership Month As part of National Homeownership Month in June, NeighborWorks America put a spotlight on the thousands of informed, well-prepared Americans who became new homeowners in 2012. 72 NeighborWorks America, headquartered in Washington, D.C., helped 15,000 people attain homeownership last year, prepping them for their new life with pre-purchase counseling and education services. In fact, new research, based on data and analytics from Experian, shows homeowners who received counseling from NeighborWorks are about one-third less likely to become seriously delinquent within two years of origination. One avenue through which the organization provides homebuyer education is a collaborative effort with Wells Fargo called the LIFT program—a multi-market initiative with the primary goal of helping to stabilize communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis. According to NeighborWorks, the LIFT program has created 3,000 new homeowners since its inception in February 2012. "NeighborWorks America empowers individuals looking to become homeowners, and borrowers in distress, by helping them get housing counseling and education— whether it's homeownership or foreclosure intervention," said Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America. "NeighborWorks organizations offer a variety of financial capability services that help individuals reach important goals like saving for a home." Florida rank: 1 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 3.5% Unemployment Rate 10.5% Florida Adriana M Aleman, MBA Florida Dreams Realty Group aaleman@floridadreamsrealty.com Cell 321 689 6258 www.floridadreamsrealty.com MEMBER W W W . S U N C R E S T F L . C O M TA M PA - O R L A N D O - J U P I T E R PERFORMANCE SNAPSHOT » 25% Market Share » Over 1,800 Closed Transactions (513 + Annually) » 99% Cash for Keys Success Rate » BPO Turn Time: 24 Hours » 95%-98% Sales Price to BPO » 58 DOM – List to Closed » 4% Fallout Rate » $250,000 Property Preservation / Rehab Funds » Experts in HOA Communications » Hedge Funds, Corporate Entities & More 7.2% year ago 3.9% 14.1% 8.9% year-over-year change -8.6% -25.2% -19.1% Top County DeSoTo CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 4.9% 15.0% Mary Cubelo-Hinton / Broker 407.876.3615 mcubelo-hinton@suncrestfl.com year ago 5.5% 17.7% year-over-year change -10.8% STAT INSIGHT -15.1% Top Core-Based Statistical Area ArCADiA, FL 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 4.9% 15.0% year ago 5.5% 17.7% year-over-year change -10.8% -15.1% 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 April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. 72,000 Florida borrowers receiving payments from the National Mortgage Settlement. Source: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi