Tag Archives: Loan Modification

New data from federal regulators show that the nation's largest banks and thrifts repossessed nearly 187,000 homes during the third quarter of 2010. The number of foreclosures completed during the three-month period is up 57.5 percent from a year earlier. The report shows that new foreclosures initiated also rose to more than 382,000. Although foreclosure activity increased during the quarter, servicers reported almost twice as many home retention actions as completed home forfeiture actions.

The government's key foreclosure prevention program has put 504,648 distressed homeowners into permanently modified loans since its launch in March 2009. Treasury released new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, and in addition to crossing the 500K threshold, the data show that servicers stepped up their use of the program. Permanent modifications in November rose 26 percent compared to October, and 20 percent more trial mods were started.

Wells Fargo has reached an agreement with California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., to provide loan modifications worth more than $2 billion to an estimated 14,900 California homeowners with pick-a-pay loans originated by World Savings and Wachovia, banks Wells Fargo acquired. Wells Fargo will also pay an additional $32 million to thousands of borrowers who lost their homes through foreclosure. The bank says the majority of Wachovia's Pick-a-Payment customers reside in California.

For every home loan held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that was modified during the third quarter, 2.3 loans were foreclosed on during the same period. The GSEs initiated foreclosure on 339,000 home mortgages during the July to September timeframe. Loan modifications completed in the quarter totaled 146,500, with the majority of those completed through non-HAMP programs. The two companies approved 29,500 short sales during the third quarter.

Fannie Mae is adding a sixth mortgage help center to its arsenal with its first Texas location. The new center, located in Dallas, is a partnership with two local non-profit housing agencies that will provide free counseling services for struggling Dallas/Fort Worth-area homeowners with loans owned by Fannie Mae. Counselors will review a borrower's loan, discuss foreclosure alternatives, collect the required documents for the federal Making Home Affordable program, and provide help to finalize any pending loan workout efforts.

A second state has filed a lawsuit against Bank of America for alleged deceptive loan modification and foreclosure practices. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced that her office has also opened a lawsuit against the company and its affiliates regarding its residential mortgage servicing procedures. Bank of America says it is disappointed by the lawsuit and is currently engaged in multi-state discussions to improve foreclosure related processes and programs to help distressed homeowners.

Data released by NeighborWorks America Monday illustrates the value of foreclosure prevention counseling for distressed homeowners. The organization has found that a homeowner who works with a housing counselor is nearly two times more likely to avoid foreclosure than those who go it alone. Counseled borrowers also lower their monthly mortgage payments by nearly twice as much and are less likely to re-default after a mortgage modification.

Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), chairman of the House oversight subcommittee, has released a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) expressing concern about reports that the Obama administration is pressuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to write down principal mortgages. Neugebauer argues that the GSEs' participation in such a program would increase taxpayer losses - already approaching $150 billion - and run counter to the statutory obligation of FHFA to minimize taxpayer exposure.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will enact a ban on advance fees charged for loan modification and mortgage assistance rescue services starting January 31, to prevent providers of such services from collecting upfront fees from homeowners without successfully securing a loan modification. The new rule, however, exempts fees charged in advance for loan modification products, such as software systems that produce modification documentation like the technology offered by loss mitigation software provider the Loan Post, Inc.

According to the fourth quarter issue of Southwest Economy, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, banks in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District are performing well, although signs of stress are still apparent. The report states that about 30 percent banks in the district, which includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico, find that even after restructuring troubled loans to give borrowers easier terms, many of the loans become delinquent again.