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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 7 A look at facts you didn't know you couldn't live without. Compiled by the DS News Staff TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS D ATA B I T S Foreclosure starts increased by 11.5 percent from August to September 2014, up to 91,000, according to Black Knight Financial Services. The U.S. unemployment rate in September 2014 was 5.9 percent, its lowest level since July 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CFPB: SOME SERVICERS VIOLATED NEW RULES PAGE 34 INSIDE THE JOURNAL // MOVERS & SHAKERS // ON THE WEB // THE APP SPECTRUM Source: areavibes.com FIVE MINUTES WITH Lorenz Schwarz MOST EXPENSIVE U.S. CITIES TO BUY A HOME 1 San Francisco, California $750,900 2 Irvine, California $646,500 3 Fremont, California $605,100 4 Arlington, Virgina $577,300 5 San Jose, California $575,100 6 Honolulu, Hawaii $547,600 7 New York, New York $501,500 8 Los Angeles, California $470,000 9 San Diego, California $451,800 10 Washington, D.C. $443,000 City Median Home Price Ranking LEAST EXPENSIVE U.S. CITIES TO BUY A HOME 1 Corpus Christi, Texas $112,700 2 San Antonio, Texas $113,100 3 El Paso, Texas $116,600 4 Wichita, Kansas $117,000 5 Garland, Texas $116,900 6 Des Moines, Iowa $118,600 7 Montgomery, Alabama $119,700 8 Indianapolis, Indiana $119,900 9 St. Louis, Missouri $121,700 10 Tulsa, Oklahoma $121,700 Ranking City Median Home Price Examiners from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that some servicers violated federal laws while supervising for compliance, CFPB announced recently. CFPB examiners found that some servicers failed to oversee the activities of service providers. CFPB's new mortgage servicing rules that went into effect in January specifically require servicers to have a set of policies and procedures in place to oversee the activities of service providers, who are often contracted for the purpose of developing or marketing additional products. Failure to oversee the activities of service providers who are not familiar with CFPB's rules can result in harm to the consumer. e CFPB investigation also revealed that some servicers unfairly delayed permanent loan modifications. e examiners found that some servicers delayed the conversion process from a trial loan modification into a permanent loan modification, thus preventing the consumer from receiving all the benefits that a permanent loan modification offers. e third violation of the mortgage servicing rules that CFPB examiners uncovered was some servicers deceived consumers about the status of their permanent loan modifications. Examiners found that some servicers failed to execute permanent loan modification agreements that had been signed and returned to them by borrowers. e servicers instead waited a period of time, then sent the borrowers updated agreements with different terms, thus affecting the borrowers' payment and, in some cases, whether or not the borrower could accept the revised modification based on financial means and budgets. In addition to these servicer violations, CFPB examiners found that some consumer reporting agencies were not adequately tracking and resolving consumer complaints, and they found at least one debt collector that was charging consumers with illegal fees and threating litigation it had no intention of pursuing. CFPB issued the new mortgage servicing rules as a means of protection for struggling borrowers and for homeowners from servicing runarounds; since then the bureau has issued two warning bulletins to mortgage servicers regarding the servicing transfer rules. CFPB examiners found that some consumer reporting agencies were not adequately tracking and resolving consumer complaints. PRESIDENT GREEN RIVER CAPITAL

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