Tag Archives: HAMP

Wells Fargo will host a free workshop Thursday for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing financial hardships. Hundreds of South Carolina homeowners are invited to the event in Columbia, South Carolina. About 50 home retention team members will be on hand to work one-on-one with customers to explore options such as workouts and loan modifications.

Fannie Mae has issued a notice to servicers detailing changes to how they should evaluate ""imminent default"" and how they determine the market value of properties for pre-foreclosure sales. The GSE is requiring servicers to apply the imminent default test now used only for HAMP modifications to all non-HAMP mods secured by owner-occupied properties. In addition, Fannie Mae is requiring servicers to use only approved providers for broker price opinions or appraisals on short sales and deeds-in-lieu.

Treasury has launched a Web-based tool that allows homeowners themselves to conduct a net present value (NPV) assessment of their mortgage. Under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), servicers perform an NPV test to determine if modification is a more financially sound route to take than allowing the loan to proceed to foreclosure. Treasury is encouraging both homeowners who have been denied a HAMP mod and those considering applying for the program to use the new online calculator and share the results with their servicer.

The U.S. Treasury released updated guidance for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) this week requiring certain servicers to provide borrowers with a single point-of-contact through the entire default resolution process. The new directive applies only to the largest servicers, however Treasury says all servicers participating in HAMP are encouraged to adopt the new guidance. The rule also carries over to the government's short sale and unemployment programs.

A new study conducted by Trulia and RealtyTrac found that 56 percent of U.S. renters and 47 percent of current homeowners are at least ""somewhat likely"" to purchase a foreclosed home. Along with having some concerns about hidden costs and still-declining home values, many potential buyers expect to save money if they buy a foreclosure. On average, survey respondents said they would expect to pay 38 percent less for a foreclosed home than a similar home that was not in foreclosure - not too far above today's average discount of 36 percent.

President Obama has made a public call for mortgage lenders and servicers to provide struggling homeowners with longer-term modifications and principal reductions when it fits the situation. Referring to the bailout of the banking system, which the president described as probably the most unpopular thing the government has ever done, Obama said American taxpayers were there for the banks when they got into trouble, and now it's time for the banks to be there for the American people.

Freddie Mac's economists see some positive signs for housing in terms of affordability and low mortgage rates, but extended unemployment dampens the forecast. The average duration of unemployment was just over 38 weeks in April. The GSE says the large number of workers unemployed for a long period remains the predominant force behind seriously delinquent mortgages. According to Freddie Mac, the economy needs to add over 250,000 new jobs per month, on a sustained basis, to reabsorb all the jobs lost since the recession.

Wells Fargo says as of March 31, the company had 664,195 loans in active trial or permanent mortgage modifications. Eighty-six percent, or 568,548, were through Wells Fargo's own modification programs. Loans restructured through HAMP tallied 95,647. At the same time, 7.22 percent of all first mortgage and home equity loans serviced by the company were past due or in foreclosure in the first quarter, down from 8.02 percent. While past-dues are dropping, litigation expenses related to foreclosures are expected to rise.

Sixteen percent of homeowners receiving permanent assistance through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) have been disqualified from the program for missing three consecutive payments, according to Treasury. Federal officials say HAMP's permanent mods are performing well over time, with a better track record of sustainability than the industry's private modifications. There are currently 587,000 borrowers in a permanent HAMP modification.

An estimated 210,000 homeowners received permanent, proprietary loan modifications from mortgage servicers during the first quarter of 2011, according to data released by HOPE NOW Monday. That's down nearly 20 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, and 40 percent fewer than the third quarter of 2010. While the quarterly totals indicate a significant slide in modification activity, servicers reported an uptick during March, but HOPE NOW's data also show an increase in foreclosure activity for the month.