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Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

Fannie Mae Extends Mortgage Relief for Unemployed Borrowers

Fannie Mae issued new guidelines to its servicers Wednesday, introducing an unemployment forbearance program which provides servicers the flexibility to assist borrowers who have a financial hardship due to job loss, including those facing imminent default. Servicers may offer up to six months of forbearance without obtaining Fannie Mae's prior approval. Another six months can be added with the GSE's okay. Fannie Mae's new directive mirrors the unemployed forbearance guidelines issued by Freddie Mac last week.

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Congress and Fed Disagree on Best Path to Economic Recovery

With a common goal of economic recovery, Congress and the Federal Reserve diverge on the best means to that end. Should the housing sector finance the government's economic policies, or should the government help boost the housing sector? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke submitted a white paper to Congress last week as a framework for policymakers to help the housing market, but that move has drawn the ire of at least one senator.

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Justice Department Issues Report in Support of Foreclosure Mediation

The U.S. Department of Justice released a 69-page report Tuesday on a foreclosure intervention method that is becoming increasingly popular across the country - mediation. The paper draws from an earlier workshop which was attended by dozens of mediation program stakeholders and researchers. A key finding that emerged, according to DOJ officials, is that the federal government should take an active role, both in helping to develop program and evaluation guidelines and in providing resources for mediation programs and research.

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Loan Mods and Delinquencies Rise in November: HOPE NOW

The number of mortgage modifications completed during the month of November rose 5 percent from October, bringing the year-to-date total to about 969,000, according to data released Tuesday by HOPE NOW, a voluntary private sector alliance of mortgage industry participants. While completed modifications rose over the month, 60-plus day delinquencies also increased. After reporting 2.65 million 60-plus day delinquencies in October, HOPE NOW reported 2.77 million in November.

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HAMP Mods Pass 900,000 as Servicers Tackle Seconds, Negative Equity

Treasury released a new report Monday highlighting results from the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Nearly 910,000 homeowners have received a permanent HAMP modification, saving $9.9 billion in monthly mortgage payments. Officials say they will continue to press servicers to assist underwater borrowers and address second-lien issues. A total of 38,243 principal-reducing permanent HAMP mods have been granted, and 54,828 second-lien mods have been started under the federal program.

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Fed: Enforcement Actions, Monetary Penalties Necessary for Servicers

Standing before the Association of American Law Schools in Washington D.C., Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin discussed the importance of enforcement and monetary penalties in the mortgage servicing industry. Her message stated simply that ""laws and regulations must be enforced."" A lack of enforcement leads to the entrenchment of bad practices and an increase in the costs of correction, Raskin said, calling many of the mortgage servicing industry's practices ""shoddy.""

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Delinquencies Stubbornly High as Earlier Declines Come to an End

New data released by Lender Processing Services (LPS) shows mortgage delinquencies at the end of November 2011 were nearly 25 percent below their January 2010 peak. LPS says over that period, the number of noncurrent mortgages was slashed by nearly a quarter simply because fewer borrowers were falling behind on their payments - a trend which dominated 2010 and the first quarter of 2011. Unfortunately, the company says that trend has come to an end.

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Freddie Mac Extends Forbearance for Unemployed Homeowners

Freddie Mac has announced an extension of forbearance for unemployed borrowers of up to 12 months. According to Freddie Mac, almost 10 percent of delinquencies in the GSE's portfolio are linked to unemployment. Under the new directive, servicers may offer up to six months of forbearance to unemployed homeowners without prior approval, and with prior approval they may offer up to six months more, totaling a possible one year in some cases.

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CFPB Launches Supervision Program for Nonbank Mortgage Companies

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) now has the authority to oversee nonbank businesses, including mortgage servicers that are not part of a depository institution and companies providing loan modification and foreclosure relief services. This expanded authority came with the appointment of an agency director on Wednesday, and the bureau wasted no time. That very same day, the CFPB announced the official launch of its nonbank supervisory program.

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Mortgage Modification Scams Make Top Ten Scam List for 2011

Mortgage modification scams made the list of ""Top Ten Scams of 2011,"" assembled by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Because the federal government announced or expanded several mortgage relief programs this year, the BBB says all kinds of sound-alike websites have popped up to try to fool consumers into parting with their money. Scammers are representing themselves as government agencies or the BBB itself in order to gain consumers' trust.

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