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WASHINGTON, DC HOPE NOW, the voluntary, private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and non-profit counselors, released its May 2011 mortgage industry data, which estimates declines in foreclosure sales for the second straight month.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 12, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued the following statement following remarks by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) this morning at the National Press Club.

LOS ANGELES, CA - July 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Six Los Angeles County residents have been charged for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that used fraudulent loan applications and supporting documents to convince lenders to fund approximately 20 loans that resulted in approximately $4 million in losses.

Boston, MA - July 11, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- On June 20, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HUD) made funding available to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. The funding program – the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) – will provide much-needed funds for homeowners who have lost their job or experienced an involuntary decline in income. Homeowners who have received a foreclosure notice may be eligible for a deferred payment loan that will allow them to pay loan arrearages, back taxes and up to 24 months of mortgage payments. The EHLP loans will be two-year, no interest, forgivable loans. Eligible families must make less than 120 percent of the median income.

Las Vegas, NV - July 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A recent report released by IMS Advanced Realty Data Services named The Myers Team the #1 Short Sale Real Estate Team in Nevada. Number one status was determined by actual short sale listings closed in 2010. According to the report, The Myers Team with the Caliber Realty Group has closed more short sale transactions than any Realtor or Broker in Las Vegas. The Myers Team is nationally recognized as one of the most influential figures in real estate today. According to Myers Team owner, Bill Myers, “Surrendering a home worth half of what you owe is NOT a failure, it's a business decision. A short sale is an opportunity for you and your family to take control and walk away free and clear. Nobody wants to lose their home; however, loan modification doesn’t work and there is no need to go down with a sinking ship

Washington, DC - July 8, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An estimate of senior home equity owned by Americans aged 62 and over stood at $3.2 trillion as of the end of the first quarter in 2011, according to results from the recently released NRMLA/RiskSpan Reverse Mortgage Market Index (RMMI). The index has tracked reverse mortgage market opportunity since 2000 by analyzing and reporting on trends in senior home values and home equity levels.

Las Vegas, NV - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- A recent report released by IMS Advanced Realty Data Services named The Myers Team the #1 Short Sale Real Estate Team in Nevada. Number one status was determined by actual short sale listings closed in 2010. According to the report, The Myers Team with the Caliber Realty Group has closed more short sale transactions than any Realtor or Broker in Las Vegas. The Myers Team is nationally recognized as one of the most influential figures in real estate today. According to Myers Team owner, Bill Myers, “Surrendering a home worth half of what you owe is NOT a failure, it's a business decision. A short sale is an opportunity for you and your family to take control and walk away free and clear. Nobody wants to lose their home; however, loan modification doesn’t work and there is no need to go down with a sinking ship.

DALLAS, TX - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- An August 29, 2011 trial date before Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater has been set for three defendants charged with running a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme in the Dallas area, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Gregory Lashon Thomas, Aja D. Crawford (aka Aja Abercrombie), and Ernest Ohenekitiwa McMillan were arrested on conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud charges outlined in a four-count indictment returned last month. All three pleaded not guilty and have been released on bond.

NEW YORK, NY - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Two justices of the New York State Supreme Court have issued sweeping orders to restrain the activities of alleged “loan modification” scammers, providing major victories for financially vulnerable homeowners. On July 5, 2011, Justice Thomas A. Adams of the Nassau County Supreme Court extended a temporary restraining order that restrains the activities and freezes the assets of a group of companies operating under the names “Express Home Solutions” and “Home Preserve Law Group.” The ruling complements a similar order issued on June 28, 2011 by Justice John M. Galasso, also of the Nassau County Supreme Court, which enjoins a group of individuals operating a separate business under the name “Homesafe America.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), testified today before a joint subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee at a hearing titled “Mortgage Servicing: An Examination of the Role of Federal Regulators in Settlement Negotiations and the Future of Mortgage Servicing Standards.”Below is Mr. Stevens’ oral statement before the subcommittee, as prepared for delivery

Washington, DC - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Obama Administration announced adjustments to Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements that will require servicers to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months. The Administration also intends to require servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) to extend the minimum forbearance period to 12 months wherever possible under regulator and investor guidelines. These adjustments will provide much needed assistance for unemployed homeowners trying to stay in their homes while seeking re-employment. These changes are intended to set a standard for the mortgage industry to provide more robust assistance to unemployed homeowners in the economic downturn.The changes to FHA’s Special Forbearance Program announced today will require servicers to extend the forbearance period for FHA borrowers who qualify for the program from four months to 12 months and remove upfront hurdles to make it easier for unemployed borrowers to qualify.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Rubén Hinojosa announces a new federal program, the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program (EHLP),that will directly help qualifying homeowners with their mortgage.

Washington, DC - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The long-term viability of America’s housing finance market requires comprehensive reform of the secondary mortgage market. Toward that end, the National Association of Realtors® supports H.R. 2413, the “Secondary Market Facility for Residential Mortgage Act of 2011.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 7, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgages servicers should be required to give every mortgage holder “a good-faith review of foreclosure alternatives” before taking steps to take his or her home, CRL president Michael Calhoun told Congress today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) On Tuesday, July 5, 2011, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) submitted the attached comment letter to Elizabeth Warren, Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Treasury Secretary urging the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection to meet with key stakeholders as soon as possible on the second set of prototypes integrating Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosures released by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) on June 27, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book for the first quarter of 2011. First quarter data on the commercial real estate markets show the natural effects of the turn of the real estate cycle. Broader economic indicators were positive in the first quarter, but provided less of a tail wind to commercial real estate markets than they might have. Despite this softness, real estate fundamentals have stabilized and are beginning to show signs of mending. Transaction volumes are picking up, and pricing and loan performance are showing initial signs – inconsistent though they are – of improvement. Any pick-up in economic growth will speed the healing; any slowdown will draw out the cycle

WASHINGTON, DC - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today the unsealing of a criminal information earlier today, charging four defendants – Louis Gendason, 42, of Delray Beach, Fla.; Kimberly Mackey, 46, of Pittsburgh; John Incandela, 24, and Marcos Echevarria, 29, both of Palm Beach, Fla. – with conspiracy to commit wire fraud involving a nation-wide reverse mortgage scam that defrauded elderly borrowers, financial institutions and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HOUSTON, TX - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Claymon “Butch” Trammell, along with his wife, Jeannettea Williams, and daughter, Michelle Trammell, have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their roles in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. The three residents of Houston entered their pleas yesterday in federal court before United States District Court Judge Vanessa Gilmore.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 6, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 5.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 1, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - July 5, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC), the nation’s largest mortgage insurance company, and two of its underwriters, Elgina Cunningham and Kelly Kane, for violating the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against women on paid maternity leave.