As of the end of 2010, 87.6 percent of the 32.9 million residential mortgages covered by a report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision were current.

The fourth quarter Mortgage Metrics Report also revealed that the percentage of mortgages that were seriously delinquent fell to its lowest point since the second quarter of 2009.

Meanwhile, completed foreclosures decreased by nearly 50 percent to 95,067, largely due to the ongoing robosigning scandal.

And newly initiated foreclosures decreased by nearly eight percent to 352,318, pushing foreclosure inventory up seven percent to 1,290,253 units, or 3.9 percent of the total servicing portfolio.

But both new and completed foreclosures are expected to increase in upcoming quarters as moratoria are lifted and the huge inventory of seriously delinquent loans and loans currently in the process of foreclosure make their way through the system.

Home Retention Actions Triple Home Forfeiture Actions

During the quarter, loan servicers implemented 473,415 “home retention actions,” which include loan modifications, trial payment plans, and so forth, compared with 146,132 completed “home forfeiture actions,” which include short sales, foreclosures, and deeds-in-lieu-of-foreclosure.

Home retention actions increased slightly from the prior quarter, mainly attributable to new trial plans extended under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which is currently on the chopping block.

Over the past five quarters, loan servicers initiated nearly 2.7 million home retention actions, including roughly 1.1 million loan mods, 1 million trial-period plans, and 640,000 payment plans.

Unsurprisingly, 57 percent of loan mods made since January 1, 2008 that reduced mortgage payments by 10 percent or more were current as of the end of the fourth quarter, while only 34 percent made during the same period that reduced payments by less than 10 percent were in good standing.

The report covers roughly 63 percent of all first-lien mortgages in nationwide, worth $5.7 trillion in outstanding balances.

If you find yourself knee deep in debt, don’t panic. First find out the total debt that you have and then make a list of all your debts. There are various processes through which you can actually obtain debt relief by paying off the dues. However, if you really want to obtain debt relief, you will have to change your style of living. You will have to lower the usage of credit cards and give up on your impulse buys.

The debt relief options

You can either try to obtain debt relief on your own or you can also get the help of debt relief companies. The different debt relief options available are:

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A new study from the Center for Responsible Lending, “Fix or Evict? L

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Debt settlements with credit card companies and other creditors have become more common as people look for debt solutions. Having a creditor approve a debt settlement plan can allow you to completely wipe out credit card debt and make a fresh financial start. But with the deadline for filing income taxes looming, it’s important to understand how a debt settlement may affect your taxes.

What is debt settlement?

Debt settlement usually occurs when a creditor agrees to accept a lower payoff than what you actually owe to them. For instance, if you owe $15,000 in credit card debt but are able to make a lump sum payment of $9,000 from savings or a windfall you receive, your creditor may agree to forgive the remaining debt and you would not have to pay it. M

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() - The U.S. economy performed somewhat better in the last quarter of 2010 than had previously been estimated, according to figures released by the Department of Commerce on Friday.

According to revised figures, the U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, grew by 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, up from the previous estimate of 2.8 percent. The upward revision came in line with economist estimates.

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Mortgage rates moved lower this week after the earthquake and subsequent nuclear fears in Japan sent investors toward U.S.

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