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Tag Archives: Loan Modification

Loan Mods Rise in August, Foreclosures Remain Steady

Servicers completed 67,000 mortgage loan modifications in August, bringing the total for the year to 580,000, according to HOPE NOW. Loan modifications increased 8 percent in August when compared to the month prior, and year-to-date loan mods outpace foreclosure sales by about 142,000. HOPE NOW reports about 23,000 short sales were completed in August.

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Borrowers Find Holistic Financial Advice Through Post-Mod Counseling

More than 11,000 homeowners have participated in Fannie Mae's post-modification counseling since 2011. Recognizing that many homeowners continue to struggle with their finances after receiving loan modifications, Fannie Mae developed the post-modification counseling program to take a holistic approach to individual finances and set borrowers on a sustainable path. Currently, there are 18 servicers that utilize the program.

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GSE’s Overdues Continue to Head South

Fannie Mae's past due loans continue to decline. The GSE reported Tuesday that its conventional single-family serious delinquency rate was 2.70 percent in July, down seven basis points from June. The multifamily serious delinquency rate was 0.18 percent, a drop of 10 basis points. Fannie Mae completed 11,870 loan modifications during the month, bringing the year's total to 95,381 for the first seven months of 2013.

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Freddie Mac Updates Disaster Relief Requirements

Freddie Mac is requiring servicers to offer a new modification to help borrowers in eligible disaster areas starting November 1, 2013. Dubbed the Capitalization and Extension Modification for Disaster Relief, the new option provides relief to borrowers by adding payments to the end of the loans to bring the account current. Fannie Mae also announced similar disaster relief policies in a recent servicing guide last week.

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Loan Mods Up from Year Ago in Q2; Foreclosure Starts Plummet

Although the pace of loan modification activity slowed from the first to the second quarter this year, foreclosure starts saw an even greater quarterly decline, according to data from HOPE NOW. In the second quarter, servicers provided 204,000 loan modifications to distressed borrowers, down by about 16 percent from the prior quarter. However, loan modifications were still up 13 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, foreclosures starts were down 30 percent compared to the first quarter and down 38 percent from last year.

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Administration: As Market Shows Stability, It’s Time to Reform Housing

Newly initiated foreclosures are on the decline, reaching their lowest numbers since December 2005 in June, according to the latest Housing Scorecard from the Obama administration. Meanwhile, the administration continues to add to the tally of homeowners helped through its Making Home Affordable Program, bringing the total to more than 1.7 million as of June. Looking forward, the administration says it will focus on forming a new housing finance system.

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Court Rules Borrowers Can Fight Bank’s Decision to Deny Modification

Homeowners who are denied a modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) even after completing a trial period plan (TPP) have legal standing to sue their lender, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Thursday. Reversing a lower court dismissal, the ""panel held that the district court should not have dismissed the plaintiffs' complaints when the record before it showed that the bank had accepted and retained the payments demanded by the TPP,"" the court opinion stated.

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Four California Men Sentenced to Jail for Mortgage Modification Scams

Four California men face jail time, probation, and restitution fees for alleged mortgage modification scams. The men defrauded hundreds of homeowners of more than $130,000, according to an announcement Tuesday from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). The four defendants sent promotional letters to homeowners offering to modify or refinance their home loans. They collected upfront fees for their services and did not deliver on their promises.

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GSEs Raise Fixed Interest Rate for Standard and Streamlined Mods

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are raising the fixed interest rate for non-HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Program) modifications. The new interest rate adjustments serve to reflect current market conditions and will be applied to standard and streamlined modifications. Starting September 1, 2013, interest rates for modifications will rise from 4 percent to 4.625 percent.

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Report: 26% of HAMP Borrowers Redefaulted, Rate Continues to Worsen

Upon closer examination, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has not helped as many borrowers as it may seem, according to a report from SIGTARP. HAMP, a government loan modification program created to prevent foreclosures, has provided about 1.2 million modifications to distressed borrowers since its inception in 2009. Of those borrowers, 306,538 redefaulted after falling behind on their payments by three months, which means in actuality, 865,100 are still actively in the program, the taxpayer watchdog agency revealed. Of the redefaulters, 22 percent have entered into the foreclosure process.

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