DS NEWS MARCH 7, 2011

NEW PROPOSAL FOR BANKS DEALING WITH DISTRESSED PROPERTIES:
On Thursday banks received the much awaited proposal that many speculated would detail the potential ramifications for their part in the foreclosure and robo-signing mess.

According to various reports, the proposal could force banks to reduce principal loan balances for delinquent or underwater borrowers, or pay a multi-billion dollar fine.
But amid much speculation, missing from the proposal is an actual number amount that banks might have to pay to help remedy the problem, or possible penalties they might face for their conduct.

Instead, according to the Wall Street Journal, the proposal outlines a code of conduct that banks will be held to when dealing with troubled borrowers.
Though the proposal included insight from several government agencies and attorneys general, it did not include input from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The office is rumored to be against strict regulations that the other agencies are rumored to be advocating for, including a fine of more than $20 billion.
According to a recent report to a Senate committee, Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh said even though banks may not have followed procedure when foreclosing on homeowners, the foreclosures were legal and very few homeowners were wrongly forced from their homes.
“A small number of foreclosure sales should not have proceeded because of an intervening event or condition, such as the borrower … filing bankruptcy shortly before the foreclosure action or being approved for a trial period modification,” he said.
Reports have also surfaced that banks are pushing back against proposed mandatory write-downs, claiming that such a practice could invite fraud. Final negotiations between banks and legislators are expected to take place in Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks.

More Reasons to Work with Short Sale Specialists

From: DSNEWS Daily Dose
Despite new rules for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) short sales that went into effect on February 1, real estate agents responding to a survey said short sale transactions are still taking too long.

A survey published recently by Santa Barbara, California-based property valuations company Equi-Trax reveals the majority of short sales are taking four or more months to complete, and Realtors say lenders are to blame.
Of the survey’s 626 respondents, 53.6 percent said that in their experience, on average, short sale transactions take four to six months.

More than 18 percent said the transactions take seven to nine months, 7.3 percent said the process takes 10 to 12 months, and 2.6 percent said the process takes more than a year to complete.
Only 18.2 percent said it takes three months or less.
An overwhelming 56.8 percent said the greatest challenge in completing a short sale is lenders, while 2.4 percent blamed challenges on the clients. About the same amount of participants (57.6) said lenders need to shorten the time they require to complete short sales.
Around 14 percent of agents also said they feel borrowers need to be better educated about short sales.
But as servicers begin to get used to the new rules and implement them into their company processes, agents may see the length of time short sales take drop dramatically, and the number of short sales being completed rise dramatically.
A recent forecast by specialty servicer AMS Servicing said non-GSE residential short sale activity could increase 50 percent industry-wide over the course of 2011 and beyond, substantially altering the national loan-servicing landscape.