Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

Chase has opened its newest Homeownership Center near the U.S. military base in Fort Hood, Texas, to provide one-on-one help for homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments. It is Chase's first Homeownership Center near a military base. The bank plans to open five other centers this year near military bases in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington state.

MortgageKeeper Referral Services is the developer of a national database that connects financially strapped homeowners with qualified nonprofit and government agencies for assistance. The company announced Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement with Saxon Mortgage Services to electronically connect homeowners to vetted community services via MortgageKeeper's MKDirect product.

Foreclosure sales declined for the second straight month, while foreclosure starts increased, according to HOPE NOW. Foreclosure sales nationwide decreased 7 percent from 73,000 in April to 68,000 in May.

With delinquent mortgages at unprecedented levels, sheer market conditions command a staff the size of a small army dedicated to working with distressed borrowers. Servicers have added thousands to their loss mitigation teams over the past few years and most are still recruiting. JPMorgan Chase has added more than 10,100 new employees nationwide to the default and loss mitigation organization since 2008, almost doubling its staff. Chase has partnered with HOPE NOW, nonprofits, and state agencies conducting over 1,500 local events through April.

eMASON, Inc. has launched a new product that facilitates compliance with the new Single Point of Contact requirement set forth by the Obama administration. Clarifire Community Portal delivers business process automation, secure centralized communication, and real-time collaboration, while increasing efficiency and reducing cost. In addition to assisting servicers in implementing a ""Single Point of Contact,"" servicers can use the application to eliminate dual processing and for escalation and exception management processes.

A judge has denied Bank of America’s motion to dismiss a case involving tens of thousands of homeowners who claim the bank denied them help through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Homeowners are asking that Bank of America provide permanent loan modifications to eligible borrowers and award damages to homeowners wrongfully denied modification. The attorney for the homeowners claims the bank is depriving homeowners of federal bailout funds that could save them from foreclosure.

The national unemployment rate edged up in June to 9.2 percent, as the economy added just 18,000 jobs. The numbers were worse than market forecasts. Economists were expecting the rate to remain unchanged at 9.1 percent and job gains to be between 85,000 and 100,000. Declines in the labor market have added significantly to the volume of seriously delinquent mortgages. On Thursday, the administration announced that it was extending the mortgage forbearance period to 12 months for unemployed homeowners in government programs.

With no sustained pickup in the job market, over six million Americans have been unemployed for longer than 27 weeks. Such extended periods of joblessness remain the predominant force behind high volumes of seriously past-due mortgages. With these realities weighing on an already fragile market, the federal government said Thursday it will extend the mortgage forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to a year under the Federal Housing Administration and Making Home Affordable programs.

HOPE LoanPort, a proprietary, Web-based tool used by non-profit housing counselors, housing finance agencies, investors, and major mortgage servicers, recently added North Dakota to its roster, making it live in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The nonprofit organization, which recently completed its first full year of operation, allows housing counselors to submit an application, including the upload of homeowner documents, for home retention in a secure environment.

More than 5,000 Washington state homeowners have been invited by Wells Fargo to participate in a free workshop this Thursday and Friday in Bellevue. Designed for borrowers facing financial hardships, the two-day workshop targets Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers. The Washington event is Wells Fargo's 16th home preservation workshop in 2011.