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at Interthinx. "TrueOutlook is designed to meet the needs of organizations with limited internal resources and staffing." REO Sales Down in California pending home sales in California, accord- ing to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.). The trade group's most recent home sales report indicates pending sales of existing homes declined 4.2 percent from June to July but were up 2.8 percent from July 2011. C.A.R. warns, though, that the monthly decline in pending home sales may be a forward indicator pointing to a slowdown in home sales. "We continue to see a strong demand Lack of inventory continues to stunt for housing, but the California market is being hindered by a lack of inventory and multiple offers on what little inventory that is available," said LeFrancis Arnold, C.A.R. president. "The shortage of inventory has had the most dramatic effect in the REO market … [with] the share of REO sales dropping 35 percent over the past year." REO sales as a percentage of all existing home sales fell to 17.4 percent in July, down from 20.2 percent in June and 28.6 percent in July 2011. According to the Realtors' report, the supply of REOs available for purchase remained tight, with the Unsold Inventory Index at a mere 1.5-month supply. Although REO sales are declining, short C.A.R. issued a statement accusing FHFA of "moving ahead with its REO bulk sales pilot initiative in a highly secretive manner, despite vehement opposition from California con- gressional members, the negative economic impact to the state's housing market, and cost to taxpayers." Arnold says not only is FHFA moving forward without heeding the warnings of those who live and work in these communi- ties, but he also says the agency is refusing to disclose any details, such as property locations, final property count, sales prices, or names of the winning bidders. FHFA announced in July that winning bidders had been chosen and that the trans- actions were expected to close in the early part of the third quarter. The winning bidder for the pool of properties sold in Florida has been made public, but as of September 17, the identities of the investors who bought the California properties as well as those in three other targeted markets had not been disclosed. Arnold also expressed concern that FHFA used outdated market data to determine property valuations. Because the transactions are only now in the process of closing, Arnold says he expects the outdated valuations to bring down home prices in the Inland Empire. Because of what C.A.R. calls "FHFA's sales are on the rise. C.A.R. says the share of short sales increased to 22.6 percent in July, up from 21.4 percent in June and 18.8 percent a year earlier. In July, the Unsold Inventory Index for short sales was 4.2 months. The share of traditional, non-distressed failure to implement the REO initiative in an open and transparent manner," the trade group has filed a request for details through the Freedom of Information Act. property sales increased monthly and yearly. Non-distressed sales accounted for 59.5 percent of sales in July, up from 58 percent in June and 52.4 percent a year ago. The months' supply of unsold inventory for non-distressed properties was 3.8 months in July. Dwindling REO inventory has led C.A.R. to speak out against the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) REO- to-rental initiative. The agency's pilot sale included 484 REO homes in Riverside and Los Angeles, markets that local practitioners say are seeing more consumer demand than properties for sale. C.A.R., along with other local organiza- tions and a large faction of state lawmakers, have rallied against FHFA's bulk REO sales in their state but to no avail. In late August, 84 Officials Charge Fugitive for Defrauding Distressed Homeowners with identity theft and fraud after operating an illegal foreclosure rescue operation, of- ficials announced in late August. The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and André Birotte Jr., U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, jointly announced Glen Alan Ward of Canada was indicted August 17 on two counts of bankruptcy fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Ward, who is from Los Angeles, is accused of running a foreclosure rescue scam, promising to postpone more than A federal fugitive of 12 years was charged 800 foreclosure sales and using the stolen identities of debtors who'd recently filed for bankruptcy to trick lenders into halting or even canceling foreclosure sales to comply with bankruptcy laws protecting debtors' property. Ward became a fugitive in 2000 when he failed to appear in court after signing a plea agreement. Twelve years later on April 5, 2012, Ward was arrested in Canada on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant based on charges in the Central District of California. His extradition to the U.S. is pending. From July 2007 to April 5, 2012, while he was running from earlier charges of bank- ruptcy fraud, Ward allegedly told homeown- ers who were at risk of foreclosure that he would delay their foreclosure as long as they paid him $700 a month. According to federal documents, Ward postponed 824 foreclosure sales by using at least 414 bankruptcies filed in 26 judicial districts throughout the United States. He raised more than $1 million with his illegal foreclosure-delay services. Those guilty of bankruptcy fraud can face up to five years in prison, mail fraud carries up to 30 years behind bars, and each count of aggravated identity theft can mean a two- year mandatory, consecutive sentence. Stewart Title Expands with Two New California Offices in California with new offices in Watsonville and Redlands. The two facilities offer access to the company's full suite of products and services and can handle residential, commercial, REO and short sale, agricultural, and mobile home transactions, along with other title- and escrow-related services. The Watsonville office serves Santa Cruz, Stewart Title Co. announced its expansion Monterey, and San Benito counties, while the Redlands office serves Redlands, San Bernardino, and surrounding communities. STAT INSIGHT in a negative equity position in the Golden State. Source: Lender Processing Services Percentage of current loans 24%

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