Mortgage Firms Prodded to Modify More Loans

Mortgage Firms Prodded to Modify More Loans
Wall Street Journal

The Obama administration is pressing mortgage-servicing companies to step up their efforts to modify troubled loans under its housing-rescue program, the latest sign of frustration with the pace at which mortgage companies are reworking troubled loans. "We believe there is a general need for servicers to devote substantially more resources to this program for it to fully succeed and achieve the objectives we all share," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a letter to 25 mortgage-servicing firms.

Expect More Home Price Declines Almost Everywhere
Wall Street Journal

Nearly 85% of the country’s housing markets are facing an increased risk of home price declines over the next two years, and prices are likely to slide in half of the largest 50 U.S. markets through the beginning of 2011, according to a report from mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc. (Read full report.) Rising unemployment is accelerating foreclosures and home price declines in a diverse group of markets that are likely to spread the reach of housing pain beyond the hardest hit four states–California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona.

Foreclosure of the Day: Sprawling Boca Mansion Hits the Auction Block
Wall Street Journal

Back in September, Robert Frank took a look at  “The Finest Foreclosures.”  Here’s another one to add to the list: A 25,000-plus square-foot home in Boca Raton, Fla., that goes up for auction on Saturday. Trying to avoid foreclosure on the mansion, Richard Rochon, who co-founded private equity firm Royal Palm Capital Partners in 2002 and now serves as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Rochon, who had the home built in 2001, conceded to the Miami Herald in April that he has stopped paying the loan to lender Thornburg Mortgage, which filed to foreclose on the property in December.