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Servicers Completed Mortgage Solutions for 1.88 Million Homeowners in 2014, Report Shows

avoid-foreclosureApproximately 1.88 million homeowners nationwide received a mortgage solution or foreclosure alternative in the form of a loan modification, short sale, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, or other workout plan during 2014, according to data released Wednesday by HOPE NOW.

The 2014 numbers brought the total number of solutions the industry has offered to homeowners since 2007, when HOPE NOW began tracking the data, up to 23.2 million, representing a combination of both long and short term tools.

The total number of permanent loan modifications offered to homeowners by the industry in 2014 was 489,000, according to HOPE NOW. Of those, 352,000 were completed under proprietary programs and approximately 137,000 were completed under the U.S. Department of Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The number of permanent loan mods completed since 2007 now totals more than 7.3 million, with approximately 5.9 million coming via proprietary programs and about 1.45 million coming under HAMP, according to HOPE NOW.

Meanwhile, both foreclosure starts and completed foreclosures experienced significant declines in 2014 compared to 2013. In 2014, the foreclosure process was started on approximately 842,000 residential homes nationwide compared to 1.28 million in 2013, which is a decline of 34 percent. Completed foreclosures, which are a true indicator of the number of homes lost to foreclosure, declined by 27 percent – from 627,000 in 2013 down to 455,000 in 2014. The number of mortgage loans that were 60 days or more delinquent as of December 31, 2014, declined by about 5 percent from the same period a year earlier – from 2.03 million down to 1.92 million, according to HOPE NOW.

"The 2014 foreclosure data shows a continuing trend of recovery in the housing market," said Eric Selk, director of HOPE NOW. "While loan modifications continue to fall from their peak levels around 2010, delinquencies and foreclosures are showing the corresponding decline. Nearly half a million families were helped with loan modifications in 2014. This is a significant number and shows the strong commitment from HOPE NOW members. The industry has a multitude of solutions at their disposal, both long term and short term, and mortgage services work hard to put homeowners in solutions that are sustainable and realistic."

Short sales completed in 2014 totaled 130,000, bringing the total completed since December 2009, when HOPE NOW began tracking short sales data, up to 1.57 million. Deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures totaled 28,000 in 2014, bringing the total since December 2009 up to 127,000.

About Author: Brian Honea

Brian Honea's writing and editing career spans nearly two decades across many forms of media. He served as sports editor for two suburban newspaper chains in the DFW area and has freelanced for such publications as the Yahoo! Contributor Network, Dallas Home Improvement magazine, and the Dallas Morning News. He has written four non-fiction sports books, the latest of which, The Life of Coach Chuck Curtis, was published by the TCU Press in December 2014. A lifelong Texan, Brian received his master's degree from Amberton University in Garland.
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