Archive for the ‘HAMP’ Category

Foreclosures down but not out

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Real estate data tracking firm, RealtyTrac, reported foreclosures fell for a second straight month in February.

The numbers

February foreclosure filings of 308,524 reflect a decrease of 2 percent from January. However, this is still a 6 percent year-over-year increase.

“The 6 percent year-over-year increase we saw in February was the smallest annual increase we’ve seen since January 2006, when we began calculating year-over-year increases, but it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” said James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac.

Some fear the recent decrease in foreclosures is a false-positive. With the Treasury’s HAMP coming under fire for its low success rate in modifying mortgages for at-risk homeowners, many fear foreclosures will eventually find their second wind.

DHW asks: Do you think foreclosures will continue to decline?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in HAMP, foreclosure, foreclosures | No Comments »

Changes made to HAMP help streamline process

Monday, February 1st, 2010

The Treasury unveiled new changes to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that could streamline the process for homeowners.

Tags: , ,
Posted in HAMP, Uncategorized, home affordable modification program | No Comments »

Loan modifications improving but still failing

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Although the numbers are improving, a third of loans modified by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac early last year were delinquent after six months.

These loans were modified prior to implementation of Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

DHW asks: Do you think loan modifications are making a difference?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in HAMP, Uncategorized, fannie mae, freddie mac, home affordable modification program, loan modification | 1 Comment »

Some see glass half-foreclosed

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Just one day before the Congressional Oversight Panel criticized the government’s loan modification program as outdated and under-performing, HUD secretary Shaun Donovan reported the pace of trial modifications are beginning to exceed foreclosures. “The fact we now have a pace of trial modifications that exceeds the pace of weekly foreclosures is a very important milestone,” Donovan said. “We believe we’ve reached an important turning point.”

Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the panel responsible for overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout program, remains unconvinced. “We’re concerned that not enough foreclosures will be prevented,” Warren said.

USAToday reported the panel’s three major concerns with the government’s loan modification program.

  1. The kinds of mortgages that will make up growing numbers of foreclosures exceed the program’s eligibility requirements.
  2. With a goal of modifying only 25,000 to 30,000 loans a week, fewer than half of the predicted foreclosures would be avoided. One in eight homes are currently in foreclosure or default and 250,000 additional foreclosures are initiated monthly.
  3. Many modifications so far are still in a three-month trial period. As of Sept. 1, only 1,711 homeowners had received permanent modifications under the federal program. And after five years, many will see higher payments.

If you have questions about a loan modification under HAMP, visit the official website.

DHW asks: Do you think loan modifications will continue to outpace foreclosures?

Tags: , , ,
Posted in HAMP, foreclosure, home affordable modification program, loan modification | 1 Comment »

Bank of America Fail

Sunday, December 13th, 2009

Of the 760,000 homeowners to apply for a loan modification under President Obama’s mortgage relief program since March, only 31,000 have received permanent loan modifications. Bank of America was the worst performer of all the big lenders, completing only 98 loan modifications out of the 160,000 applications filed by the end of November. Even the best performer, GMAC, was unimpressive. They completed just 7,100 loan modifications.

Overall, only 4% of enrolled borrowers successfully completed permanent loan modifications.

In recent weeks, critics of the president’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) have called for a more aggressive approach to loan modifications.

One overlooked resource

Generally, one of the requirements for successfully completing a loan modification under The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is using the services of a housing counselor. This service is free to the borrower and paid for by the government. The housing counselor will help you come up with a budget you can afford. The counselor is also your advocate. If you are having problems communicating with your lender, contact your counselor. To find a HUD-approved housing counselor, call 888-995-HOPE. They can refer you to a counselor in your area or arrange for an over-the-phone consultation. Remember, the HUD-approved housing counselor is free to borrowers and does not represent the interest of the lender.

If this approach fails, perhaps resort to the advice given on DHW a while back.

DHW asks: Have you applied for a loan modification under HAMP?

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in HAMP, HUD, Housing, bank of america, housing counselor, loan modification | 1 Comment »

Op-Ed: Treasury should modify loan modifications

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

The Wall Street Journal published an insightful op-ed piece by Edward Pinto. Mr Pinto sees two major shortfalls with the Treasury’s attempt to modify delinquent mortgages through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

  1. “The first shortfall is that the program doesn’t provide a clear process to triage the over 7.5 million delinquent loans.”
  2. “It doesn’t take into account that the primary reason borrowers default is “negative equity.” When a house is worth less than what is owed on it, making monthly payments seems like a waste of money and many homeowners walk away.”

Mr. Pinto categorizes the three types of delinquent borrowers in his article:

  1. Borrowers with loans for vacation homes or investors. Pinto feels these loans should be identified immediately and, “when necessary, foreclosed on.” ‘Scammers’ also fall into this category.
  2. Borrowers who can’t or won’t pay their mortgage. Mr. Pinto feels these borrowers should be given incentives to vacate their homes, “either a small amount of cash or the ability to conduct a short sale.”
  3. Borrowers who have demonstrated an ability and willingness to pay their mortgage. Mr. Pinto writes that these borrowers can be best served “if we stop clogging the system with unqualified borrowers from groups one and two.”

(If you fall into category three, still call your lender for a loan modification using HAMP. With government pressure now on the industry to act quickly, you may find your lender to be more cooperative than in the past. If you fall into category two, contact your lender to request a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.)

In October 2008, along with Peter Wallison, Edward Pinto wrote in the Wall Street Journal that government agencies bore a responsibility to “clean up the mess they had made by lowering underwriting standards to satisfy Congress’s desire to increase home ownership.” They suggested “that the loan principal could be reduced by an average of 20% to give owners equity—and with it an incentive to pay their mortgages.” They also suggested that mortgages “be modified to a 5% fixed rate loan with a 20-year term.”

DHW highly recommends that you read this article (this includes you too, Treasury).

DHW asks: Have you applied for a loan modification or short sale? If so, how was your experience?

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in HAMP, Housing, home affordable modification program, loan modification, making home affordable, short sale | No Comments »

HAMP update and new program — Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA)

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Finally, relief for those seeking a loan modification, short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Lets hope these will be the game changers we’ve been waiting for.

  • Update for those seeking a loan modification using Making Home Affordable (a.k.a. HAMP)
  • New guidelines for streamlining short sales and deed-in-lieu of foreclosures (HAFA)

This information is also available under “Modification Center”

DHW asks: Do you think these programs will be game changers?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in HAFA, HAMP, deed in lieu of foreclosure, loan modification, short sale | 1 Comment »