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Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 2009 has been one of the most significant years in the default servicing industry to date. DS News would like to look back on the year that was, and the REO-related stories that were most read and left the biggest impact on viewers. Delinquencies and Foreclosures at Record Highs, with Shadow Inventories Looming: LPS Report Even as the industry is ramping up efforts to keep troubled borrowers in their homes, the latest market study from Lender Processing Services (LPS) shows that mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures remain alarmingly elevated. These growing numbers are adding to large "shadow" inventories of REOs, the company warned. Nearly one-third of foreclosures remain in pre-sale status after 12 months - twice as many as the year prior, LPS said, further adding to the threat of a shadow eclipse. Where's the "Shadow Inventory" Crash? Maybe Just around the Corner Debate continues to rage within the residential mortgage market over the boogeyman known as the shadow inventory. Is it coming? If so, when? And how bad can it really be? Party's Over: Wells Fargo Sacks Exec who Squatted in Malibu Mansion As expected, Cheronda Guyton's novel solution to the problem of REO maintenance cost her a job, as Wells Fargo fired the vice president in charge of foreclosures for not-so-quietly living in a multi-million-dollar Malibu beach house that had been repossessed from victims of the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme. "We deeply regret the activities that have taken place as they do not reflect the conduct we expect of our team members," Wells Fargo said in a statement announcing the personnel move. Fannie, Freddie Have 100,000 REOs, Lockhart Tells Five-Star Attendees James B. Lockhart III, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, told Five Star Conference attendees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have nearly 100,000 real estate-owned properties, and that number is rising. James B. Lockhart III, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, made the comments as a featured speaker at the Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo in Ft. Worth, Texas. He cited data that showed 35,000 REO assets on the books at Freddie and nearly twice that number - 68,000 - at Fannie. Special Servicer Snags GMAC-ResCap Asset Management Unit Mountain Funding LLC, an investor in distressed real estate debt portfolios, has absorbed the 14 senior executives of GMAC-ResCap's REO asset management group. As part of the deal, the 14 professionals' former employer has signed on as their newest client. You are receving this email because you opted in at our website dsnews.com or attended a Five Star Conference. Unsubscribe roballey.434-974-5586@blogger.com from this list. Corporate Office: DS News 1909 Woodall Rodgers Suite 300 Dallas, TX 75201 Add us to your address book Washington Bureau: 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite 600 Washington, D.C. 20004 Copyright (C) 2009 DS News All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend Update your profile QUICK LINKS DSNews.com DS News' Red Book DS News' Black Book 2009 Five Star Conference DARE