Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

The number of permanent Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) mortgage restructurings completed by Bank of America through July has reached more than 76,000, a number that BofA says continues to lead the industry. In addition, nearly 100,000 Bank of America customers have received non-HAMP modifications this year, including many that did not qualify under the federal program. BofA also reported that it completed 25,000 short sale transactions during the second quarter of this year.

The industry has completed about 975,000 permanent loan modifications so far in 2010, according to estimates released this week by the HOPE NOW Alliance. Of those, only a third have been processed under the umbrella of the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Two-thirds have been servicers' own proprietary mod programs. HOPE NOW also reports, though, that servicers have initiated more than 1.2 million foreclosures this year.

Loan Value Group recently announced that its Responsible Homeowner Reward (RH Reward) program has been included as an alternative resource in Ohio's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) plan for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage but may not qualify for the official state-run programs. The RH Reward program provides cash incentives to homeowners who remain current on their mortgages, and Ohio says it is a valuable incentive to deter strategic default and even reduce principal for some borrowers with negative equity.

Gov. Deval Patrick has signed into law a package of foreclosure initiatives that he says will keep people in their homes and stabilize neighborhoods across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The legislation was deemed an emergency measure by lawmakers. In addition to extending the mandated 90-day right-to-cure on foreclosures created in 2007 to 150 days, it creates new protections for tenants renting apartments in foreclosed buildings and establishes mortgage fraud as a crime.

Struggling Atlanta homeowners with Fannie Mae-owned home loans can now take advantage of the company's new mortgage help center. The third facility in a series of planned, nationwide mortgage help centers, the Atlanta center provides counseling and other services for borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure. Both English- and Spanish-speaking housing counselors will be on hand to explain options to homeowners and help finalize documentation for modifications or other loan workouts.

More than one million homeowners have received counseling through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program since its launch in January 2008. The program, which is administered by NeighborWorks America, has been appropriated $475 million in federal funding to provide free, community-based counseling to distressed homeowners. Lawmakers are pushing for another $113 million to be made available for the program through fiscal year 2011.

When the Treasury Department released its latest progress report for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in late July, it showed the redault rate for permanently modified loans to be around the two percent mark. An outcry from analysts - and some of you discerning DSnews.com readers - immediately followed, questioning the validity of the government's math. Last week, the Treasury quietly corrected its redefault assessment. The revised numbers are between 6 and 10 percent.

The Obama administration said Wednesday that it will provide additional support to help unemployed homeowners through two targeted initiatives. The Treasury will make another $2 billion available to housing finance agencies in 17 states and the District of Columbia to implement local programs for unemployed homeowners. HUD is also launching a $1 billion program to provide up to 24 months of assistance to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure because of lost income.

A former Fannie Mae VP has gone public with accusations that the nation's largest mortgage company mishandled its stewardship of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The whistleblower claims that HAMP was impeded by intentional delays and slip-ups because Fannie executives placed their institution's short-term financial interests above helping homeowners avoid foreclosure. A spokesperson for Fannie Mae told DSNews.com that there is ""no merit to [the] allegations.""

Fannie Mae says it is retiring one of its foreclosure prevention options. The GSE's HomeSaver Advance (HSA) program will be taken off the table on September 30. Fannie explained that HSA volume has shrunk significantly as other foreclosure prevention workouts, particularly modifications, have increased. Under the program, servicers were allowed to extend unsecured personal loans to delinquent homeowners to cure arrearages, but as housing and economic woes have worsened, such a short-term fix has not been enough to keep borrowers current.