RE/MAX Adds RealtyTrac Foreclosure Listings to Site
RE/MAX Adds RealtyTrac Foreclosure Listings to Site
November 30, 2009, DSNews
Denver-based RE/MAX International, Inc. and California’s RealtyTrac announced Monday that the two companies have partnered to offer homebuyers a single online portal to search more than a million foreclosed properties and access agents specializing in short sales and foreclosures. RE/MAX claims to be the first national real estate franchise to offer U.S. foreclosure listings on its Web site. “We strive to provide consumers with the most information, properties, videos, articles, and resources to help them navigate today’s market,” said Kristi Graning, SVP of information technology and eBusiness for RE/MAX International. “Remax.com is now the perfect combination of resources on one Web site, where visitors can search for foreclosures and connect with a uniquely trained RE/MAX agent who specializes in short sales, REOs, and foreclosures.”
State Considers Foreclosure Mediation Program
November 26, 2009, San Francisco Chronicle
Californians facing rising home loan payments or foreclosures could get some help from the state Capitol, where lawmakers are considering the creation of a mediation program similar to those adopted in more than a dozen other states. The program would allow borrowers at risk of losing their homes to request a mediation process with the lender, who would be legally bound to participate in talks to work out a home loan modification that would avoid foreclosure of the property.
Guidelines on Short Sales Released
December 1, 2009, Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration Monday announced long-awaited guidelines that should make it easier for some financially-troubled borrowers to sell their homes. The new rules are designed to encourage the use of short sales, transactions in which the borrower—with the lender’s approval—sells the home for less than the amount owed. The program also makes it easier for borrowers to voluntarily transfer ownership of properties through a “deed in lieu of foreclosure.” The new guidelines provide financial incentives for borrowers, mortgage companies and investors. Borrowers, for instance, can receive $1,500 from the government for completing a short sale and must be released from any future liability for the unpaid debt. Servicers have 10 days to approve or disapprove a short sale offer. (See a full copy of the guidelines.)
The Mod Squads
December 2, 2009, Washington Post
Modifying mortgages to provide more affordable terms can help borrowers, lenders and neighborhoods avoid the economic and social costs of foreclosure. With that in mind, the Obama administration unveiled the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in March. HAMP provides $75 billion to help lenders reduce borrowers' monthly payments to 31 percent of their incomes. It offers loan servicers $1,000 per completed loan "mod," plus another $1,000 for each one still performing after three years. The latest figures show that 650,000 eligible borrowers have been offered trial modifications, of which only about 2,000 have finished all the paperwork needed to finalize the new terms.
Mark Pittman, Reporter Who Challenged Fed Secrecy, Dies at 52
November 30, 2009, Bloomberg News
Mark Pittman, the award-winning reporter whose fight to make the Federal Reserve more accountable to taxpayers led Bloomberg News to sue the central bank and win, died Nov. 25 in Yonkers, New York. He was 52. Pittman suffered from heart-related illnesses. The precise cause of death wasn’t known, said his friend William Karesh, vice president of the Global Health Program at the Bronx, New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.