Tag Archives: HAMP

Though servicers seem to be having minimal success with the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), final 2010 data released by HOPE NOW shows that its members completed 1.24 million proprietary loan modifications last year. That number is more than double the 512,712 HAMP modifications completed by servicers last year. HOPE NOW's data show that there were 1.06 million foreclosure sales in 2010, compared to 1.76 million total loan modifications.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is pushing legislation that would allow bankruptcy court judges to order foreclosure mediation between homeowners and lenders. His proposal is modeled after a program in his home state of Rhode Island. He says it would not give judges the power to slash mortgage debt like the many bankruptcy cramdown measures that have fallen short, but instead would force lenders to open up the lines of communication to find a solution that is in the best interest of both homeowners and investors.

Last week, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, released a report to Congress saying servicers are not doing all they can to help facilitate the process of keeping borrowers in their homes. To date there have been 1,025,907 homeowners rejected for HAMP modifications by the eight largest servicers, and there have been 572,655 canceled trial modifications, which typically occurs because of insufficient documentation, program ineligibility, or because the borrower missed payments.

Treasury and HUD released a new report Monday on the state of the housing market, including new metrics that provide a more granular view of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Most program participants are moderate and middle income distressed homeowners, with a median credit score of 570, who are underwater on their mortgages. Borrowers in active permanent modifications have seen their monthly mortgage payment cut by a median of 40 percent.

In his report to Congress this week, Neil Barofsky covered a number of controversial issues surrounding the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) designed by Treasury as a foreclosure prevention effort. Barofsky says HAMP ""continues to fall dramatically short of any meaningful standard of success,"" and he faults servicers for compounding the program's problems with unnecessary delays and mishandling of paperwork. Barofsky is the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which funds the HAMP initiative.

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.

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.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller on Monday filed a petition asking the Indiana Supreme Court to impose new procedures for foreclosures filed in the state. Zoeller says with some mortgage lenders trying to foreclose on distressed homeowners by filing court documents that are unverified, unauthenticated, or riddled with errors, Indiana is not going to wait for the federal government to take action to ensure borrowers' rights are protected.

New data from federal regulators show that the nation's largest banks and thrifts repossessed nearly 187,000 homes during the third quarter of 2010. The number of foreclosures completed during the three-month period is up 57.5 percent from a year earlier. The report shows that new foreclosures initiated also rose to more than 382,000. Although foreclosure activity increased during the quarter, servicers reported almost twice as many home retention actions as completed home forfeiture actions.