Tag Archives: HAMP

Even though President Obama and Governor Romney were criticized for evading housing issues when running for president, Clear Capital asserts the ""sprint"" in housing still spoke positively for Obama and assisted him in his recent re-election. But, now that Obama has won a second term, his administration is charged with leading phase two of the housing recovery, and this will happen by collaborating with the industry to reduce regulatory uncertainty, according to a Clear Capital report.

August data from HOPE NOW revealed mortgage servicers gave an estimated 75,968 homeowners permanent loan modifications during the month. In July, total loan modifications was higher at 82,679. HOPE NOW also reported the industry has seen 5.75 million loan modifications since 2007. Of those modifications, about 4.68 million were proprietary loan modifications, while more than 1 million were from HAMP.

On Friday, Treasury released the Making Home Affordable Program report, which details performance from the nine largest servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program. The most recent August servicer report provided data on servicers’ ability to reach out to delinquent homeowners who are at least 60 days behind to inform them of the program. In addition, the report revealed servicers' performance when converting eligible trials into permanent modifications.

Radian Guaranty Inc. will begin offering a program that provides cash rewards to homeowners who stay current on their newly modified HAMP mortgages.

Mortgage performance for loans serviced by large national and federal savings banks weakened in the second quarter of 2012, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported Thursday. The percentage of current and performing mortgages stood at 88.7 percent at the end of Q2, a slight drop from Q1, when 88.9 percent of loans were current and performing. However, the share of seriously delinquent mortgages fell 0.8 percent from Q1 to 4.4 percent, the lowest level in three years.

The continuation of improvements in the housing sector and servicer performance were a key focus in the Obama Administration's housing scorecard and Making Home Affordable Program report. Maintaining its tone from previous months, the Obama administration's housing scorecard said data on the housing market continues to show the market is strengthening, but still fragile. Larger servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program were also described as continuing to show improvement.

The number of homeowners who received permanent, affordable proprietary loan modifications jumped up 43 percent from June to July, HOPE NOW reported Wednesday. The voluntary, private sector alliance of mortgage professionals and non-profit counselors released its July 2012 loan modification data, revealing that an estimated 66,002 homeowners received proprietary loan modifications in July, an increase from 46,208 in June.

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.""

HUD and Treasury Department released the latest scorecard Friday, providing a look at a market in recovery but threatened by an expected increase in foreclosure activity. According to the report, foreclosure starts and completions both declined in June, painting a picture of continued recovery. However, officials expect foreclosure activity to pick up in coming months as firms lift delays in foreclosure processing.

Starting September 1, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will lower their standard modification interest rate from 4.625 percent to 4.25 percent. The GSEs stated the rates are adjusted based on market conditions.