rssAdministration Finally Finds Mortgage Modification Incentive for Banks
Friday, February 26, 2010 at 3:03 pm
- 7 Comments
Reports that only 25 percent of eligible homeowners have applied for inclusion in President Obama’s $75 billion mortgage modification program and only 5 percent have received permanent relief have left the Administration struggling for new ways to assist homeowners fighting foreclosure. Its latest idea is stunning in its administrative simplicity, and in its late inclusion to the plan: they want to force banks to engage in modifications before they initiate foreclosure proceedings.
Under the terms of the proposal, banks would be prohibited from foreclosing on houses until mortgagees were screened for eligibility in the mortgage modification program or at least four verifiable contact attempts had been made. Banks will have to stop foreclosure proceedings while customers are in temporary repayment plans. Government officials estimate that nearly 90 percent of outstanding mortgages are eligible for inclusion in that program.
Currently, banks can initiate foreclosure proceedings against any homeowner that hasn’t applied for a mortgage modification. And foreclosures can proceed even while applications for inclusion in the modification program are under review or even after a customer has received a temporary notification — probably part of the reason for the small proportion of temporary modifications converted into full modifications.
The Administration’s proposal, in effect, lowers the barriers for entry into the mortgage modification program by putting the onus on banks to include the homeowners having the most trouble with their mortgages before they engage in foreclosures. It’s such an obvious solution to an intractable problem — getting the information about and applications for the modification program to the people who need it but don’t necessarily know about it — that it’s almost surprising banks weren’t forced to do it from the get-go. Then the nearly 3 million homeowners who lost their houses last year might still have them.
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Comment posted February 26, 2010 @ 8:33 pm
What's not said here — and what would help in terms of perspective — is that as badly as the Obama program is doing it's vastly better than Bush's FHASecure and Hope for Homeowners. Curiously, there were not too many complaints prior to Obama.
OurBroker
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Comment posted February 27, 2010 @ 8:03 am
Learn all you can to deal with or prevent foreclosure.
Comment posted February 28, 2010 @ 11:44 am
26 February 2010
Cindi Dixon, Mela Capital Group, LLC cindi@melacapitalgroup.com
An open letter to consumers regarding
Mortgage modifications and forensic loan auditing
Consumers seeking mortgage modifications should take caution! While there is a great deal of negative press on modification companies, there are legitimate services available.
Once a loan modification company has been selected, do your homework before getting started. Contact your state Department of Corporations and Licensing Division to verify ANY and all companies you choose to do business with. This can be done easily on line for FREE. Every state also has a Department of Financial Regulation with a toll free telephone number where you can contact them directly to confirm the good standing of a business entity along with any complaints or outstanding issues against them. The same goes for law firms promising to aid you in foreclosure defense. Law firms and Attorneys are no different than any other organization when it comes to these standards. Before entering into an agreement with a foreclosure law firm, contact your state Bar Association and discuss their legal standing and any open complaints against the firm. Advise the firm that you have spoken with your state Bar Association and will continue to rely on their guidance throughout the process. This will accomplish two very important things, 1) The legitimate attorney who chooses to work with you will know that you are an honest person and will provide them with accurate, timely information to assist in resolving your case, and 2) The shady attorney will not want to take your case or your money if they cannot get the job done for you because they know action will be taken if they try to deceive or take advantage of you.
These are difficult times and many “Foreclosure Rescue” and “Loan Modification” companies are the same con men that originated these now-defaulting mortgages. Seek help if you need it and CONSUMER BEWARE!
Comment posted February 28, 2010 @ 4:44 pm
26 February 2010
Cindi Dixon, Mela Capital Group, LLC cindi@melacapitalgroup.com
An open letter to consumers regarding
Mortgage modifications and forensic loan auditing
Consumers seeking mortgage modifications should take caution! While there is a great deal of negative press on modification companies, there are legitimate services available.
Once a loan modification company has been selected, do your homework before getting started. Contact your state Department of Corporations and Licensing Division to verify ANY and all companies you choose to do business with. This can be done easily on line for FREE. Every state also has a Department of Financial Regulation with a toll free telephone number where you can contact them directly to confirm the good standing of a business entity along with any complaints or outstanding issues against them. The same goes for law firms promising to aid you in foreclosure defense. Law firms and Attorneys are no different than any other organization when it comes to these standards. Before entering into an agreement with a foreclosure law firm, contact your state Bar Association and discuss their legal standing and any open complaints against the firm. Advise the firm that you have spoken with your state Bar Association and will continue to rely on their guidance throughout the process. This will accomplish two very important things, 1) The legitimate attorney who chooses to work with you will know that you are an honest person and will provide them with accurate, timely information to assist in resolving your case, and 2) The shady attorney will not want to take your case or your money if they cannot get the job done for you because they know action will be taken if they try to deceive or take advantage of you.
These are difficult times and many “Foreclosure Rescue” and “Loan Modification” companies are the same con men that originated these now-defaulting mortgages. Seek help if you need it and CONSUMER BEWARE!
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