Tag Archives: Loan Modification

The House Financial Services Committee voted Thursday to scrap two foreclosure relief programs - one that gives underwater homeowners a federal refinancing option through FHA's Short Refi Program, and a second that provides temporary assistance to unemployed homeowners through the Emergency Mortgage Relief Fund. The two bills now move to the full House for debate. The committee was also planning to consider two separate bills to end the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, but votes on these have been pushed to next week.

Bank of America is the first major mortgage servicer to leverage the federal government's Hardest Hit Fund to begin pilot programs of principal reductions for Arizona customers who owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth. Through the Arizona pilot, BofA customers experiencing financial hardship may be eligible to have the amount owed on their mortgages reduced through matching contributions from the state and participating mortgage investors.

Treasury released its new numbers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Wednesday, just hours before a House subcommittee convened a hearing to terminate the government's flagship foreclosure prevention program and three other federal housing programs. As of the end of January, active permanent HAMP mods totaled 539,493, but critics say the numbers aren't high enough and the House subcommittee's looming ""kill-bill"" hearing was a sensitive subject for officials.

DRI Management Systems, Inc., a provider of default process management software, added new functionality with several new modules to version 1.4 of its flagship technology. Officially relabeled DRI Office, the platform was previously known by its development code name, Rincon. According to DRI, the new version was created to relieve mortgage servicers' workloads and improve results with capacity planning, workflow tracking, services ordering, and enhanced communication capabilities.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has issued a notice announcing regulatory changes for modifying VA-guaranteed home loans. According to the department, the new rule makes VA loan modifications more flexible and encourages loan holders to modify more loans. It changes the requirements related to maximum interest rates allowed on modified VA loans and the items that can be capitalized into the modified loan amount.

The Nevada Supreme Court has updated the rules governing the state's foreclosure mediation program, which officials say are intended ""to clarify and streamline the processes"" of the program created by the state legislature in 2009 to address Nevada's foreclosure crisis. Among the revised rules, which take effect March 1, the court has expanded the time to file a petition for judicial review from 15 to 30 days after a party receives the mediator's statement.

A new module available from Fiserv, Inc., LoanServ: LoanLink, gives lenders the ability to offer borrowers the option to access their loan information, including loss mitigation options, via an Apple app. Consumers can update their loan information in real-time via the Internet or iPhone or iPad application, and retrieve such details as payoff requests, payment histories, and information about loan modifications and other options for borrowers struggling to make their mortgage payments.

Rep. Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced this week that he has scheduled a subcommittee hearing and full committee markup of four bills that will terminate what he says are ""failed and ineffective housing foreclosure programs."" On the chopping block are the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Short Refi Program, and the Emergency Homeowner Relief Fund passed under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Fannie Mae this week unveiled the Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) program, which will measure and evaluate mortgage servicers' performance in supporting the housing recovery. The program will examine how the servicers help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and will feature incentives, awards, and an annual scorecard, as well as a monthly snapshot so servicers can track their progress. It will directly link servicer performance to the customer experience and the number of homeowners the servicer has helped.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that it lost $113 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. The loss, compounded by the company's $1.6 billion quarterly dividend payment to Treasury for bailout money, left the GSE with a net worth deficit again. Freddie's regulator is requesting another draw from Treasury, this time to the tune of $500 million. The company's fourth-quarter shortfall was actually the smallest of 2010 and brings the GSE's losses for the full year to $14 billion.