Tag Archives: Forbearance

One of the states hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis is providing some relief to struggling homeowners.

A bill approved by a committee in the North Carolina House of Representatives would allow distressed homeowners to omit forgiven principal mortgage loan debt when reporting tax income at the end of the year, according to a media reports.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) called on all approved mortgagees and lenders to be sensitive to the financial hardships some borrowers are facing as a result of the federal government shutdown, including those subject to furlough, layoff, or a reduction in income. The agency is instructing its industry partners to extend informal forbearance plans and exhaust all available loss mitigation options.

As the industry prepares to comply with the January implementation of new rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their servicing guides to bring GSE standards in line with the new regulations. Among the guideline changes, servicers are prohibited from mentioning foreclosure earlier than 121 days into delinquency.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced proposed revisions to its ability-to-repay rule, mortgage servicing rules, and rules regarding consumer protections. One of the clarifications specified in the announcement is the definition of a loan originator. The CFPB also clarified rules relating to loss mitigation.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reminded servicers of mortgage relief options available to homeowners whose residences were affected by the tornado that ravaged areas in Oklahoma.

Unless the GSEs change their restrictive guidelines, Superstorm Sandy victims could face a hefty balloon payment or a spike in their monthly mortgage payments, according to a release from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York. According to Cuomo, Sandy victims who receive forbearance on their mortgage payments could face an immediate balloon payment or see a spike in their monthly mortgage payments.

As of December 31, 2011, the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), which is meant to fund innovative measures to help families through the housing crises in hardest hit states, has spent just 3 percent of its budget since its February 2010 inception, a report published by a watchdog organization for taxpayers revealed Thursday. More specifically, as of the end of 2011, HHF spent $217.4 million of the $7.6 billion available for the program, and has provided assistance to just 30,640 homeowners, which is about 7 percent of the 458,632 to 486,536 homeowners it is estimated to help over the life of the program, which ends in 2017.

While arguments continue to be made that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should apply principal reductions to keep underwater borrowers from going into foreclosure, Edward DeMarco, FHFA acting director, still has plenty of ammo to defend his highly criticized stance. During a speech at the Brookings Institution Tuesday, DeMarco, despite revealing figures that showed the GSEs could potentially save $1.7 billion through the application of principal reduction, still cited reasons to be wary of the proposed foreclosure prevention solution.

The $25 billion settlement received approval from a federal judge Wednesday, but the announcement was not made public until Thursday, according to a Reuters’ article published Thursday evening. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer approved the national, historical settlement, which was brought on by federal officials and 49 state attorneys general against the top five largest servicers – Bank of America; Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase; Wells Fargo and Ally Financial. Oklahoma was the only state to opt out of the agreement. In a statement Friday, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called the the approval ""a victory for American homeowners.""