A bit of light here…
Mortgage servicers are the companies that collect the monthly payments from borrowers and then distribute the funds to investors, insurance companies, tax districts and any other entity involved in the process. The mortgage servicer is also paid from the borrower’s check as well. Due to the housing market down turn, mortgage servicers have to hire, train, and pay for new employees to handle loss mitigation.
To some, loss mitigation means finding a way to keep a borrower in the home, be it through changing the loan terms, or negotiating a new repayment plan. In reality though, to the mortgage servicer, it means mitigating the loss to the investor who owns the loan.
Mortgage servicers are currently swamped, thus the delay in negotiating results in many of the pending short-sale transactions. What is happening is that while the number of borrowers in loss mitigation has increased, this number has been matched by an increasing number of delinquent loans. Therefore, it seems like the mortgage services industry is running in place.
Time and patience are the keys. Eventually a settlement will be reached for everyone.