The Department of Veterans Affairs FY 2017 budget is seeking $34 million for the VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI) to manage the 2.4 million VA mortgages in portfolio. VALERI connects VA with more than 225,000 approved mortgage servicers and an estimated 320,000 veteran borrowers. Specifically, the system is used to manage and monitor servicer and VA staff activities aimed at providing timely and appropriate loss-mitigation assistance to defaulted borrowers. Without these resources, approximately 90,000 veterans and their families would be in danger of losing their homes each year, the VA said. Furthermore, this could cost the VA $2.8 billion a year in additional expense. In addition, VALERI also supports payment of guaranty and acquisition claims.Meanwhile, starting March 19, VA servicers began using the new version of the bulk upload templates to ...
Firms that specialize in subservicing increased their contracts by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter and by 21.3 percent from a year ago, according to a new tally from Inside Mortgage Finance. In general, the outlook for the sector is strong, but a handful of firms aren’t growing their business by very much. And one firm – Ocwen Financial – experienced a large decline in contracts during the period. At yearend, Ocwen subserviced...[Includes one data table]
A number of home buyers have been duped by hackers in an e-mail and money wiring scam involving purchase mortgages, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC posted a warning about scammers “phishing” for settlement fees late last week. In a phishing scheme, fraudsters impersonate a business online in an effort to trick a consumer. “Hackers have been breaking...