Gateway Mortgage Group, an originator and servicer of retail and wholesale mortgages, said it selected and successfully implemented GCC Servicing Systems' loan servicing platform G/SERV for real estate and home equity loans.

Kevin Stitt, Gateway Mortgage Group president, said, "To maintain better control and track our product performance, we decided the best long-term investment was to bring our mortgage servicing in- house from a sub-servicer.

"Our vice president, Roy Briggs, is a mortgage industry veteran and he did an outstanding job of leading our team with evaluating the various servicing programs and vendors. We looked at the bigger firms but decided GCC was a great fit with Gateway based on their capabilities, service and reasonable price point."

According to a release, on July 1, G/SERV -- GCC's servicing platform -- automated all of Gateway's loan servicing functions including loan set-up, escrow and insurance administration, payment processing, credit bureau reporting, HUD delinquency reporting, VA delinquency reporting, Fannie Mae investor reporting, Ginnie Mae pool reporting as well as the WHFIT (Widely Held Fixed Investment Trust) reporting required by Ginnie Mae. G/SERV also provides functionality for customer relationship management, delinquency management, bankruptcy management, foreclosure management, and loan modification management. In addition, Gateway chose to use the G/ SERV Web Portal to give its customers internet access for on-line payments and account review.

GCC President, Glenn Liebowitz, said, "Gateway is a dynamic player in the mortgage industry and we're excited to have been selected to be their provider for a loan servicing system."

Gateway is licensed to sell FHA and VA, conventional Fannie Mae, conventional expanded levels, and Jumbo loans in 25 states including California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia, Arizona, and Indiana and services a loan portfolio of over $600 million.

Nine properties across North Carolina will sell at a bank- ordered real estate auction on Aug 17 and 18, according to J. P. King Auction Company, a real estate auction marketing firm.

In a release, J. P. King said the company will conduct four events that span across two days, where they will offer commercial buildings, homes and land. The four events will take place in Spindale, Winston-Salem, Southern Pines, and Kannapolis.

"It's a great opportunity to buy a variety of properties at a fraction of the original cost," said Craig King, president and CEO of J. P. King Auction Company. "When banks acquire properties through foreclosure, they want to convert those properties back into active loans as quickly as possible, and this provides discounted rates and high values for buyers."

The first event, in Spindale, takes place on Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. A two-story home will be offered followed by six acres of development land. The land, which is zoned for a residential development, will sell absolute with no minimums and no reserves.

Two land tracts and five homes will be offered at the Kannapolis event, including 52 acres in The Falls Subdivision and 42 acres at 412 Village Park. This event will be held at the Holiday Inn in Salisbury at 3 p.m.

In Winston-Salem, J. P. King will offer an 11,000 square-foot commercial building fronting Reidsville Road. This brick building sits on 1.5 acres and will be auctioned at 10 a.m. on Aug. 18. At 3 p.m. in Southern Pines, a large commercial building, formerly an indoor golf facility, will sell on-site at 110 Pinehurst Avenue.

J. P. King Auction Company specializes in high-value properties and portfolios such as luxury homes, developments, condominiums, land and ranches. The company has marketed properties in all 50 states and six countries with recent sales in Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Oregon, Wisconsin, Alabama and Wyoming. This sale is conducted through its asset division, which serves corporate clients, financial institutions and government entities in the disposition of strategic assets.

The Virginian-Pilot

Homebuyers in Hampton Roads in recent years increasingly have relied on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. But in an effort to shore up its balance sheet, the agency is planning measures that would limit the number of people who can qualify for their loans.

Mortgage insurance, which compensates the lender if the borrower stops paying, typically is required when an individual purchases a home. As private mortgage insurers tightened standards in the wake of the housing downturn, homebuyers found the FHA's loan-guarantee program one of the only ways to qualify for a loan.

The share of local home sales with loans insured by the FHA grew to 27 percent in 2009, the highest point in more than a decade and up from 4 percent in 2005, according to figures compiled by Old Dominion University economists. Real estate experts said that percentage is likely to grow in 2010.

The FHA program was set up in 1934 to expand homeownership by helping people with lower incomes qualify for loans. The FHA program came under scrutiny as defaults on its loans climbed past 9 percent nationwide at the end of last year.

In January, the agency announced that it would raise fees and increase down payment requirements for borrowers with low credit scores in a bid to boost its dwindling reserve fund, which fell below a minimum set by Congress of 2 percent of its outstanding loans.

"They're trying to stem these foreclosures because they know there's probably another wave coming," said Steve Rockefeller, past president of the Tidewater Mortgage Bankers Association.

By : Josh Brown