""HOPE NOW"":http://www.hopenow.com announced this week that 270,000 homeowner solutions were completed in April. This is the largest number of workouts in any month since HOPE NOW began to compile data.
Last month, HOPE NOW members and the mortgage lending industry modified 127,000 mortgages and completed 143,000 repayment plans. Compared to March, modifications dropped slightly, while payment plans increased. HOPE NOW explained that the reversal in numbers was partially caused by the industry beginning to implement the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
Under the conventions of HAMP, loans are subject to a three-month trial period before a modification can be completed and, therefore, are classified as repayment plans or trial modifications. As a result, HOPE NOW said, the number of repayment plans increased and the number of modifications decreased from what otherwise might have been recorded. Those workouts that successfully complete the trial period will be formally reported as modifications after 90 days.
According to Faith Schwartz, HOPE NOW’s executive director, the lenders and servicers are working hard to make HAMP a successful weapon in the fight against foreclosures. ""Many HOPE NOW members see HAMP as an important opportunity for homeowners in trouble,"" she said. ""The number of homeowners helped by the industry each month should continue to increase as this program continues to be implemented.""
HOPE NOW's data also showed that the number of home loans 60-plus days delinquent was the same in April as in March, at just under three million. While foreclosure sales increased, from 53,000 in March to 65,000 in April, foreclosure starts dropped by more than 16 percent.