Category Archives: Loan Modification

Where Can You Get Help With Your Mortgage Payments?

With foreclosures at an all-time high and 25% of homeowners finding themselves underwater on their mortgages, many homeowners find themselves seeking help. CNNMoney.com reported that the Obama administration recently announced that loan servicers will be required to lower balances in the loan modification process. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae — two government-controlled mortgage owners — […]

Government’s Mortgage Program Can Hurt Credit Scores

A recent article in the NY Daily News discusses how the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) can reduce a homeowner’s credit score by as much as 100 points, especially for borrowers who are currently making their payments on time but are on the verge of default.  So far, the program has failed to meet […]

Under Government’s Mortgage Plan, 16% of Borrowers Received Aid

The Associated Press reported this week that the government’s mortgage relief plan has helped only 16% of borrowers who signed up since the plan’s launch last year. According to the Treasury, till last month, 170,000 homeowners had completed their applications and undergone permanent loan modifications, out of the 1.1 million homeowners who enrolled in the […]

New Program Will Help Homeowners Make a Short Sale

Beginning April 5, the government plans to launch a new program that will allow homeowners to sell their homes for less than they owe and pay them to help cushion the loss.  So far, the government’s Making Home Affordable Program focused on helping homeowners keep their homes and prevent foreclosure through loan modifications or refinancing. […]

Government Extends Home Affordable Refinance Program

The government announced yesterday that it would be extending its Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) that was scheduled to end on June 10 this year. The program, which was started to help troubled borrowers with little or no equity in their homes, will now continue till June 30, 2011.  HARP initially had a goal of […]

Mortgage Rates Rise To Five Percent Level Again

After falling below the 5% level, mortgage rates rose again above 5%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. The average rate for 30-year fixed mortgages was 5.05% for the week ended February 25, an increase from 4.93% last week, but a decline from 5.07% the previous year. The rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to […]

Treasury May Introduce New Guidelines For Mortgage Lenders Under HAMP

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the U.S. Treasury may introduce new guidelines for mortgage lenders to give distressed borrowers more time to try and qualify for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Among other proposed changes, loan servicers would have to give borrowers 30 days to respond after they are denied a loan […]

A Review Of The Home Affordable Modification Program

The $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) started in March 2009 to help homeowners prevent foreclosures by providing financial incentives to mortgage companies and investors for modifying home loans. Since then, approximately 66,000 homeowner mortgages have been permanently modified under the program, while 46,000 modifications are underway. The program is still a long way […]

Simplified Paperwork May Help Mortgage Borrowers

One of the main reasons for the reported failure of the government’s mortgage modification plan is something as simple (or complicated) as paperwork. Now a new set of rules, added under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which went into effect on January 1, addresses the issue of paperwork. Mortgage lenders are now required to […]

Walking Away From Your Home

A recent article in the New York Times discusses the new phenomenon of voluntary defaults on mortgages. While it has always been common for homeowners who could not afford to pay to default on their mortgages, the economic crisis has given rise to a new trend of people who voluntarily choose not to pay. Despite […]