Daily News related to the Foreclosure Crisis

The biggest unpunished heist in human history - Max Keiser

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02/26/25

Mortgage Delinquency Rate Flat in December as Loan Performance Remains Strong
The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate was flat in December compared with November, at 3.1%, according to CoreLogic. Early-stage delinquencies?(30 to 59 days past due) represented 1.6% of all loans, unchanged compared with December 2023. Loans 60 to 89 days past due represented 0.5%, also unchanged compared with December 2023. Serious delinquencies?(90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure) represented 1% of all loans, again flat compared with December 2023. The December 2024 serious delinquency rate of 1% continues its downward trend from a high of 4.3% in August 2020. Month-over-month, the share of loans 30 or more days past due ticked down very slightly compared with November. The foreclosure rate dropped slightly in December compared with December 2023, according to the firm’s Loan Performance Insights Report. The foreclosure inventory rate, at 0.2%, was down 0.1% compared with December 2023, matching the lowest ever for any month since at least January 1999. The foreclosure rate has been between 0.2% and 0.3% since 2020, CoreLogic says in its report.

02/26/25

Fannie Mae names 29 top mortgage servicers: Who made the list?
Fannie Mae has named 29 mortgage servicers as top performers in its 2024 Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program, recognizing those who have excelled in loan servicing, borrower support, and operational efficiency. The program, now in its 13th year, evaluates servicers based on their performance in managing loans, reducing credit losses, and improving industry standards. "Our servicers continue to show their commitment to operational excellence while reducing credit loss – a crucial component to the overall safety and soundness of Fannie Mae’s business and the residential mortgage market,” said Cyndi Danko, senior vice president and Single-Family chief credit officer at Fannie Mae.

02/22/25

Coalition of Attorneys General Rallies to Support CFPB Amidst Shutdown Efforts
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has aligned with a coalition of 23 attorneys general in a decisive move to sustain the operations of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The collective effort comes in response to directives issued by the Trump administration and supported by figures such as Elon Musk, which instructed federal employees to halt ongoing investigations into deceptive corporate behaviors.
The coalition has filed an amicus brief in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, advocating for CFPB employees. The bureau, recognized for its independent oversight of substantial financial entities, including banks and mortgage servicers, has historically returned over $20 billion to consumers affected by fraudulent activities and curbed unnecessary fees and predatory practices in auto and mortgage lending.

02/21/25

REVEALED: Zombie Foreclosures Are on the Rise in 5 States
Zombie foreclosures are popping up across the U.S. as homeowners struggle to make monthly mortgage payments—with rates still hovering close to 7%. There are at least 1.4 million vacant residential properties across the country, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, a curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics. That represents 1 in 76 homes across the nation—and the number is up slightly from a year ago. At least 212,268 homes are in the process of foreclosure, just in the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, among pre-foreclosure properties, 7,094 sit vacant as zombie foreclosures.

02/21/25

What’s at stake if Consumer Financial Protection Bureau goes dark
Stalled lawsuits. Halted supervision and oversight. Suspended workforce. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the midst of a complete overhaul that could cripple its ability to act as the consumer finance watchdog it was designed to be.
While the fate of the CFPB remains unclear, recent actions by the Trump administration indicate that, if it survives, it’ll be a much smaller and weaker agency than before. Advocates and public policy experts fear that without the bureau, consumers could be left to fend for themselves in a complicated and ever-evolving financial marketplace where unfair and deceptive practices go unchecked.

02/17/25

Consumers require a guardian to protect their finances from poor deals.
For many years, I advised consumers facing issues with auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, payment apps, student loan servicing, credit reports, and more to contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and file a complaint.
It’s the primary federal entity for reporting financial fraud, hidden fees, scams, and predatory practices. A comprehensive resource for protecting consumers and ensuring fair treatment from banks, lenders, and other financial entities.
However, that has abruptly changed just last week. Can you hear that? It’s the sound of countless complaints that Wall Street and major banks would relish discarding into a digital wastebasket under the Trump administration.

02/14/25

Fannie Mae Blames Multifamily Fraudsters in Part for Setting Aside $752 Million
Fannie Mae set aside $752 million for credit losses in its apartment complex lending business in part because of fraud or suspected fraud, denting profits amid an industrywide scrutiny of borrowers. “We have discovered instances of multifamily lending transactions in which one or more of the parties involved engaged in mortgage fraud or possible mortgage fraud,” the firm said in its annual report released Friday. The $752 million credit loss provision was for the year ended Dec. 31, following $495 million and $1.25 billion in 2023 and 2022, respectively, according to the report.

02/12/25

Proposal to rein in rare foreclosure auction maneuver progresses in Florida Legislature
A rarely used legal maneuver exposed by the Miami Herald that allowed an attorney to rewrite foreclosure rules to benefit his clients would be more regulated and challenging to use in most foreclosure auction proceedings under a Miami lawmaker’s amended bill, which passed its first committee Tuesday. The bill could make the use of these procedures more common in more complex commercial foreclosures, but would require their use to be more clearly spelled out. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article300150379.html#storylink=cpy

02/11/25

Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Activity Increases in January 2025
IRVINE, Calif. — February 11, 2025 — ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its January 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 30,816 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – up 8 percent from the prior month but down 7 percent from a year ago. “January showed a monthly increase in foreclosure filings that may in some part be the result of a normal post-holiday catch up of filings,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “It’s too early to know if 2025 will shift from the general 2024 trends of a continued decline in foreclosure activity. We will keep a close eye on the market to see how interest rates, inflation, employment shifts, and other market dynamics impact foreclosures in 2025.”

02/08/25

Russell Vought, CFPB's new acting head, issues directives to halt portions of bureau activity
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought issued a series of directives to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees Saturday night in his new capacity a the bureau's acting head, effectively slowing a large portion of the bureau's activity to a standstill. In the email to CFPB employees, which was obtained by NBC News, Vought confirmed that he has taken on the role of acting head of the bureau and announced a dozen directives that would go into effect immediately.

02/06/25

A Landmark Decision For Foreclosure Attorneys
Legal League has issued a brief on the recent decision in the state of Pennsylvania in the case of Foxfield at Naaman’s Creek v. Eventoff, R. At the heart of the case is the question if a homeowners association (HOA) foreclosure could divest a first mortgage from a property.
Legal League is a professional association of financial services law firms, uniquely positioned to drive progress in the mortgage servicing industry. Legal League’s Advisory Council Chair and author of the brief is Stephen M. Hladik, a former Deputy Attorney General in charge of the Harrisburg office of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection. Hladik brings a broad range of experience to his mortgage foreclosure, bankruptcy, tax sale, and UDAP legal practice as Chair of the Legal League. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, Hladik obtained his law degree from Widener University, with honors, where he served as Internal Managing Editor of the Law Review. Hladik gained significant expertise in lending law enforcement while serving in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, managing Unfair, Deceptive, and Abusive Practices (UDAP), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) cases.

02/04/25

Trump’s Hedge Fund Guy Is Now Overseeing the U.S. Treasury, IRS, OCC, U.S. Mint, FinCEN, F-SOC, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Donald Trump has placed a man with no prior government experience, Scott Bessent, in charge of overseeing a sprawling network of federal agencies that are tasked with operating and protecting the financial system of the United States. What did Bessent do previously to qualify for this powerful position? He ran a hedge fund, Key Square Capital Management LLC, with 25 employees. But, more important to the transactional world of Donald Trump, Bessent gave $1.25 million to PACs supporting Trump and tens of thousands of dollars to state and national Republican parties and candidates.

02/01/25

A Refinance Boom Can Create Strains for Mortgage Servicers
Lenders, especially ones that control their own servicing, should prepare now
The mortgage industry is expected to see a significant uptick in refinancing activity, driven by recent interest rate cuts. This surge presents both opportunities and challenges for mortgage lenders, who must navigate the complexities of managing escrow payments, processing refinanced mortgages and maintaining cost-effective operations.
As homeowners seek to capitalize on lower interest rates in the coming months, lenders face increasing pressure to remain competitive while ensuring efficient and compliant processes. Mortgage originators who will want to take advantage of a refinance boom will also want to understand this market shift could affect the lending landscape.

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