Jim Butler Checks Out The Condo-Hotel Niche
PERSON OF THE WEEK: In concept, condo-hotels represent the best of both worlds (in this case, the worlds of residential and commercial real...
Teach Me, Elmo
BLOG VIEW: You know there is something wrong with society when the Muppets are stepping in to fill a void that families, the...
A Waiting Game In REO Asset Management
REQUIRED READING: As of mid-March, companies handling the management and disposition of real estate owned properties (REOs) found themselves asking the same question...
The NAACP Voices Its Support For The CFPB
WORD ON THE STREET: The NAACP feels strongly that a robust Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is not only necessary in our nation...
Cheryl Lang On Vacant Properties’ ‘Broken-Window Syndrome’
PERSON OF THE WEEK: Few folks have as good a handle on the impact of foreclosures on communities as field servicers and asset...
Are You Really Interested In My Opinion?
BLOG VIEW: When I was in fourth grade, my elementary school principal called an assembly to announce a new initiative: The student body...
Lessons Learned From Winston Churchill And Lindsay Lohan
WORD ON THE STREET: Winston Churchill was in New York on Oct. 29, 1929, Black Thursday. Bernard Baruch took him to dinner that...
The Fight To Maintain High Quality Control
REQUIRED READING: The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, when asked how to define quality, suggested, 'Quality is not an act, it is a habit.'...
Speeding Up The Housing Recovery With Accelerated Short Sales
REQUIRED READING: Speed and short sales are too seldom mentioned in the same sentence. Although they represent a viable solution for getting bad...
The Evolving Nature Of Loan Modifications
REQUIRED READING: Since mid-2006, when borrowers began to fall behind on their mortgage loan payments at a rapidly accelerating pace, servicers have been...
A New Milestone In FHFA Incompetence
BLOG VIEW: At what point did the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) make the transition from being merely inefficient to being blatantly incompetent?...
Fed President: Heavy Reliance On Gov’t. ‘Not Sound Long-Term Strategy’
WORD ON THE STREET: Let's turn back the clock for a moment to the second half of 2006. At that time, firms and...
The T&I Problem Moves Toward Resolution
REQUIRED READING: Tax and insurance (T&I) defaults, well known in the conventional mortgage space, have increasingly become a problem in the reverse mortgage...
Opportunities And Obstacles Define The Subservicing Sector
REQUIRED READING: Gene Ross has one word of advice for anyone considering a move into the subservicing sector: 'Don't!' 'Companies coming into the...
Grant Stern Considers The Condo Market
PERSON OF THE WEEK: Within the housing industry, the condo market has seen more than its fair share of tumult. Grant Stern, president...
Dark Days For Reverse Mortgages
BLOG VIEW: There is no nice way around it - last month was disastrous for the reverse mortgage sector, thanks to tumultuous upheaval...
Community Banks And Regulatory Reform
WORD ON THE STREET: A key challenge for community banks in the years ahead will be to adapt to the changing regulatory environment,...
The AMC’s Role In Today’s Market
REQUIRED READING: Due to recent changes in industry regulations, lenders and independent appraisers find themselves working more and more frequently with appraisal management...
Unwilling Foreclosure Plaintiff? Court Says ‘No’
REQUIRED READING: In 2009, Servicing Management reported on a procedure created by a trial judge in Darke County, a rural county in western...
Frank Bocchino Makes Sense Of Social Media
PERSON OF THE WEEK: It seems like everyone is using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites - but are these online...