Tag Archives: Foreclosure Prevention

HomeAffordableGuide.com provides interactive software that guides borrowers through the application process for mortgage help programs, and the company now offers a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If a homeowner is not happy with the site's abilities while applying for a loan modification or short sale, they may request a full refund within 30 days of purchase.

Fannie Mae has issued a notice to its servicers, instructing them to postpone foreclosure proceedings for unemployed homeowners who are receiving help through Hardest-Hit Fund programs run by state housing finance agencies. According to the GSE's newly released directive, if a housing finance agency (HFA) notifies a servicer that a borrower has been approved for assistance, the servicer must not refer the mortgage loan to foreclosure or conduct a scheduled foreclosure sale for 45 days.

Wells Fargo will provide one-on-one consultation sessions for customers facing financial hardships January 25 and 26 in Brooklyn. Thousands of area homeowners are invited to the event, which will focus on avoiding foreclosure. The company says it is committed to helping people stay in their homes, and this workshop is another way for it to reach out to homeowners and provide answers on the options available for them.

Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a national nonprofit organization that connects community development lenders with the capital resources of Wall Street, has received a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. The contribution will go toward expanding CRF's organizational capacity to service a higher volume of affordable housing loans associated with foreclosure remediation programs.

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair warned mortgage bankers that failure to take immediate and decisive action to deal with breakdowns in servicing procedures will trigger a double-dip in U.S. housing markets and keep the industry deeply mired in a cycle of credit distress. Bair's fix includes instituting new fee structures so that servicers aren't forced to cut corners and establishing a claims commission funded by servicers to compensate borrowers who've been impacted by substandard practices.

Banks already facing many legal issues have yet another group on their hands that is closely examining servicing practices and demanding greater transparency. The Association of Mortgage Investors has released a white paper featuring remedies to restore and stabilize the U.S. mortgage and housing markets. The group of investors accuse servicers of making the mortgage process confusing. Their paper says they look forward to continued reviews and the involvement of state attorneys general.

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has instructed mortgage servicers to advance $1,500 to borrowers completing short sales or deeds-in-lieu (DIL) of foreclosure on VA loans in order to assist with relocation costs. The federal agency says it has a longstanding policy of encouraging servicers to work with veteran borrowers to help them retain their homes or, when that is not feasible, to mitigate losses by pursuing alternatives to foreclosure.

Free online software for the creation of personalized mortgage modification applications under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and other lender programs is now available from FreeMortgageFix.com. The company says paperwork is undeniably the No. 1 reason for the delays with the HAMP loan modification program and unnecessary denials, and it believes its online program is the answer.

Sen. Bob Casey says money that has been earmarked to help homeowners who've lost their jobs stave off foreclosure is overdue in being distributed. Casey has sent a letter to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, urging him to release $1 billion in funds Congress authorized last year for HUD to implement the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program for the unemployed. Casey says the promised funds still have not reached those families who are struggling to make their mortgage payments.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has provided free foreclosure counseling assistance to more than 17,000 families through the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program over the last two years. Created by Congress in January 2008 to address the nationwide foreclosure crisis by increasing the availability of free counseling for families at risk, the NFMC program has provided 1.12 million struggling homeowners with foreclosure prevention counseling across the nation.