Tag Archives: Loan Modification

Wells Fargo & Company will host a workshop in Phoenix for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage, and Wells Fargo Home Equity customers facing financial hardships. The two-day workshop is March 30 and 31 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Phoenix Convention Center. Nearly 200 home retention team members will be on hand to ensure borrowers receive a decision on a loan modification or other option on site or shortly following the workshop.

The nation's second largest mortgage company says early workouts are central to its game plan for 2011. This ""nip it in the bud"" mindset can be key to getting in front of delinquencies before they turn into lost-cause foreclosures, and Freddie Mac says it's making changes to the way it evaluates the performance of mortgage servicers in order to ensure problem loans are tackled early on and increase the odds of getting borrowers back to performing status. Namely, the GSE is pushing servicers to make contact with homeowners by the third day of delinquency.

After the House passed measures to terminate several federal foreclosure prevention programs, Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee stepped in with a measure of his own - a bill that establishes a grant program to fund efforts by state and local governments to provide mediation between homeowners and lenders in order to pursue alternatives to foreclosure. The mediation would postpone sheriff sales of owner-occupied residences until viable options to avert foreclosure have been explored.

With so much attention focused on the House's efforts to stamp out four federal foreclosure programs, a bill making its way through the Senate - which like its House counterpart would effectually terminate the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) - has received less attention but is progressing nonetheless. Pundits insisted such legislation would fall flat in the Senate, but members of the chamber's Banking Committee are pushing their bill forward on the argument that the free market, on its own, is working where government programs are faltering.

As part of its crackdown on mortgage scams targeting homeowners facing foreclosure, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged a national operation with marketing bogus loan modification services. The complaint alleges that U.S. Mortgage Funding Inc., Debt Remedy Partners Inc., Lower My Debts.com LLC, and their principals mislead consumers to believe they are affiliated with or approved by consumers' lenders. They tell consumers not to contact their lenders and to stop making mortgage payments, claiming that falling behind on payments will demonstrate the consumers' hardship and need for a mortgage modification.

HomeFree-USA recently revealed its success in assisting struggling homeowners by using HOPE LoanPort, a Web-based system to submit home retention applications to mortgage servicers. HomeFree-USA, which oversees a network of 65 housing counseling agencies, endorses the HOPE LoanPort system for eliminating lost paperwork and reducing decision times on loan modification applications.

Senators and banks across the country are joining forces in order to provide mortgage protection for members of the military. After reports that some members of the military and their families are struggling to remain in their homes, senators announced an act to protect servicemembers from abuses. In a similar effort, two of the top servicers have announced plans to help protect members of the military from foreclosure and high credit costs.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to end the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Short Refi Program aimed at helping homeowners who owe more on the mortgage than their home is worth obtain a new FHA-insured loan with a reduced principal. In a 256 to 171 vote Thursday evening, the House approved the FHA Refinance Program Termination Act, the first of four bills targeting federal foreclosure mitigation programs.

More backlash from the 27-page proposed servicer settlement developed on Wednesday when representatives from the House Financial Services Committee voiced their disapproval and concern in a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The letter, signed by committee chairman Spencer Bachus and four other members, was obtained by DS News on Thursday. It contains a page of questions the group wants answered, with a great deal of attention focused on principal write-down mandates.

Data released Thursday from HOPE NOW shows that while permanent loan modifications outpaced foreclosure sales in the month of January, the gap between the two is getting smaller. In January there were around 101,000 permanent loan modifications completed, down from 111,000 in December 2010. Servicers' proprietary modifications outpaced HAMP mods by almost three to one. At the same time, foreclosure sales in January totaled 73,000, up from 58,000 the month before.