Stop Foreclosure Answer

You probably saw it on the news, heard about it on the radio or read about it on the Internet.

On Friday, March 26, the Obama Administration announced revisions to the Making Home Affordable Program.  There were actually several.  The one that got the most attention was

Principal Write Downs on Loans Where Homes Were

Worth Far Less than That Owed on the Mortgage

Sounds great, doesn’t it.  You know – The news media didn’t tell us how it would be done.  They also didn’t mention the other revisions.

Let me tell you.  I have read through the revisions.  In addition to the Principal Write Down there are three others:

• Temporary assistance for unemployed homeowners while they are looking for new jobs

• Improvements to make HAMP modifications available to more people facing foreclosure

• Help for people who don’t qualify for loan modifications to move to more affordable housing.

The first revision the Administration is focusing on getting in place is the temporary assistance for unemployed homeowners.  They have indicated that this may take several months before the mortgage companies in the Making Home Affordable Program can implement it.

The other revisions will come after that.

The actual revisions are more complex than the news media led us to believe.  In fact the initial guidelines that were released on March 26 did not clarify everything in each revision.  I assume that further clarification will be coming out in the future.

I want you to know that I like what I have read thus far.  I will be commenting on each revision in upcoming blog posts.

I do have one major concern

The Mortgage Companies Will Implement the Revisions

These companies thus far have done a very poor job on temporary and permanent loan modifications in the Making Home Affordable program.  In fact Bank of America and Wells Fargo just recently decided to increase their staffs substantially to handle the applications for modifications they have received.  This was quite awhile after the program started.

In the revisions announced on March 26

There Are No Penalties for Mortgage Companies

That Fail to Implement Them Promptly

In 2009 many of the new people facing foreclosure were those who were unemployed.  These people did not qualify for help before under the original guidelines of the Making Home Affordable program.  I imagine that when they heard that they could now get help, a large number of unemployed people will apply.

All of the mortgage companies in the program are going to be buried in new work.  At the same time their staffs are not going to be increased quickly enough to handle it.  We are bound to hear complaints from unemployed people similar to the complaints we have been hearing from those who have already applied for loan modifications.

If you are facing foreclosure, don’t try to work with your mortgage company on a loan modification on your own.  I am also saying this to you if you are unemployed.  You want to make sure that get the loan modification that you are entitled to.

Get a lawyer or a housing counselor through a non-profit agency to represent you. They are skilled at dealing with mortgage companies.  They will do a far better job for you than you could on your own.

I also urge you to learn as much as possible about the foreclosure process and the steps you can take to save your home.  It is not difficult.  There is quite a bit of information on this in my EBook.  You may want to check it out.  You can get information on the book by clicking Stop Foreclosure.

Much Success,

Mark Elkins