Tag Archives: Refinance

The Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board has settled with Massachusetts mortgage lender First American Mortgage Trust (FAMT) for failing to verify whether borrowers could sustain mortgage payments prior to refinancing loans. FAMT agreed to pay $72,500, reimburse FHA for past insurance claims, and indemnify FHA's insurance fund for any claims to be paid on certain mortgages should they default within the next 60 months.

Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (M&I) has extended its foreclosure moratorium for distressed homeowners. Begun in December 2008 as part of M&I's Homeowner Assistance Program, the moratorium applies to applicable loans in all M&I markets and covers all owner-occupied residential loans for customers who agree to work in good faith to reach a successful repayment agreement.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit Monday against Meredian Financial Corporation, a California-based mortgage lender and broker. According to a statement from the attorney general, the lender charged Minnesota homeowners thousands of dollars in fees to refinance their mortgages, but the refinances did not happen. Swanson says Meredian targeted homeowners struggling in the troubled economy who were looking to get out of an adjustable-rate mortgage or lower their interest rate by refinancing.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has pushed the cut-off date for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) out by a year. HARP allows homeowners with a mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac who owe more than the home is worth obtain a new loan at today's lower interest rates. The program was originally set to expire on June 30, 2011. FHFA has now extended the program through June 30, 2012.

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.

With North Carolina facing a budget deficit of $2.7 billion, the State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) is fine-tuning its Mortgage Assistance Program to better assist state government employees facing potential job cuts. Developed in January 2009 with the objective of helping members stay in their homes, the institution's mortgage program so far has assisted 7,000 North Carolina families.

While both the House and Senate seem to have similar ideas - that changes in foreclosure prevention are needed, and fast - the groups seem to have completely different takes on how to achieve those changes. This week members of a House committee reviewed proposals advocating for the termination of four foreclosure prevention programs and voted to send two of those proposals to the full House. Meanwhile, senators sent a letter to several government agencies, urging them to modify the very programs the House will consider terminating.

The nation's two largest mortgage companies saw the number of actions carried out to prevent foreclosures on their loans more than double in 2010 when compared to 2009. Servicers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans completed 946,305 foreclosure prevention workouts in 2010, according to data from the GSEs' regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In 2009, they completed 431,098. FHFA also stressed that the performance of recently modified loans has improved relative to loans modified in earlier periods.

As the House prepares to debate on the future of the Federal Housing Administration's Short Refinance option, FHA Commissioner David Stevens implored House subcommittee members to give the program a chance. The program is a voluntary option for lenders to agree to offer principal write downs and restructure loans for underwater borrowers. Stevens said as of February 11, 23 FHA-approved lenders are participating in the program and 245 FHA case numbers have been requested, of which 44 loans have been endorsed.

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.