Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

A nonprofit was recently established with the purpose of making homeowners aware of the $7.6 billion available through the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF).

Delinquent borrowers oftentimes make themselves as elusive and unavailable as possible when it comes to communicating with their servicers. During a panel at the Five Star Conference, industry experts discussed the reasons behind the difficulty in reaching borrowers. Colleen Hernandez, CEO and president of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation, explained three main reasons why borrowers won't respond or reach out to their servicer.

Banks may have the right to schedule a foreclosure sale for past due borrowers, but in St. Louis County, homeowners will get a chance to schedule a mediation with their lender before facing foreclosure. On August 28, the St. Louis County Council passed an ordinance that will require lenders to provide homeowners with a notice advising them of their right to request mediation.

Illinois has decided to set aside part of its funds from the national mortgage settlement to provide free legal assistance for Chicago area homeowners, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced earlier this week. About $4.7 million will go to the Legal Assistance Foundation (LAF).

California attorney general Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the final parts of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights have passed out of both houses and are awaiting action from the governor. Harris said the entirety of the Homeowner Bill of Rights stems from need to help homeowners and implement the sorts of reform that were outlined in the national mortgage settlement. Once signed into law, all aspects of the legislative package will take effect at the start of 2013.

Wells Fargo announced it has made progress in meeting requirements to offer homeonwers relief as outlines by the national mortgage servicing settlement. The company stated in a release that it has helped more than 27,000 homeowners under the settlement terms, and it estimates it has fulfilled about 35 percent of its $4.3 billion consumer relief and refinance commitment.

A report released Monday from John Burns Real Estate Consulting revealed that the real homeownership rate-measured as the percentage of households that own a home and are not seriously delinquent on their mortgage-has fallen to 62.1 percent, the lowest level in almost half a century. The firm said that the Census Bureau's 65.5 percent homeownership estimate was a vast overestimate, as it includes 3.8 million homeowners who are 90 or more days delinquent.

The Nevada Legislature's Interim Finance Committee passed an $11.7 million proposal to address mortgage fraud and the state's foreclosure crisis, attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto announced Friday. The proposal outlines the first part of a three-year, estimated $33.5 million dollar program that uses part of Nevada's share of the national mortgage settlement to help struggling homeowners.

Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley issued a letter Thursday to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and their conservator, FHFA, reminding the agency and mortgage giants that they are required to offer reasonable loan modifications in the state and urging flexibility on principal reductions. In a letter addressed to FHFA acting director Edward DeMarco, Coakley outlines a law recently passed in Massachusetts that requires creditors to ""make commercially reasonable efforts to achieve a commercially reasonable loan modification.""

Starting November 1, 2012, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will implement new short sale guidelines to make the approval process easier for eligible borrowers. The new guidelines include streamlining the approach for documents, having the GSEs waive their right to pursue deficiency judgments, and raising the offer to second lien holders up to $6,000.