Homeowners Mortgage

• Obama's Helping Hand Hoodwinks Homeowners ; Government Mortgage Assistance Can Be Worse Than Nothing

Back in March 2009, the Obama administration unveiled the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, a program for helping delinquent borrowers save their homes from foreclosure - a problem that got worse again in reports released just last week. The goal of HAMP was to "help 3 to 4 million homeowners by 2012." This phrase should have read "help or hurt" because hurt is exactly what has happened to hundreds of thousands of homeowners who have attempted to use HAMP to save their homes. How is it possible that a program for providing mortgage modifications could hurt homeowners? To understand this, we need only look at how HAMP has worked - in practice. As reported in its most recent report for December 2010, HAMP has led to 1.47 million "trial modifications" that have resulted in 580...

• The Washington Times
• March 02, 2011

• Ftc Issues Final Rule to Protect Struggling Homeowners From Mortgage Relief Scams

Rule Outlaws Advance Fees and False Claims, Requires Clear Disclosures WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Homeowners will be protected by a new Federal Trade Commission rule that bans providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners have a written offer from their lender or servicer that they decide is acceptable.

• U.S. Newswire
• November 19, 2010

• Homeowners Fret Over Mortgage Changes

HELENA, Mont. - Laverl "Nick" Nicholson used to look out of his kitchen window at the weeping willows that mark the burial place of two of his daughters. Then a debilitating car wreck left him unable to pay the $220,000 he owed on his northwestern Montana home. He tried for a year and a half to lower his mortgage payments through a loan modification, but the government-insured loan that he took out three years ago came with restrictions. The best the bank could offer him was a reduction of $124 per month, leaving Nicholson with a $1,585 payment that he still couldn't afford.

• Charleston Gazette
• January 11, 2011

• Mortgage Holder Had Duty to Respond to Homeowners, Rules 7th Circuit

A mortgage holder may have violated federal law by failing to respond to written complaints by homeowners concerning the processing of their mortgage payments, the 7th Circuit has ruled in reversing a summary judgment. The plaintiffs executed a 30-year mortgage when they purchased their home. The original mortgage holder failed to correctly apply the plaintiffs' monthly payments and threatened foreclosure.

• Lawyers USA
• January 19, 2011

• Rescuing the American Dream Troubled Homeowners Crowd Mortgage Expo

In a scene that put thousands of faces on California's persistent mortgage crisis, a line of struggling homeowners wrapped around two sides of the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Thursday morning, eager to get into an event meant to help them deal with stubborn lenders. Organizers estimated 200 people camped overnight, 5,000 more waited as the doors opened, and 100,000 people will file through the arena in the 11 days of the Save-the-Dream Tour, put on by the nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

• Los Angeles Daily News
• January 21, 2011

• in the Matter of Homeowners Mortgage and Equity, Inc., Debtor. Jeffrey W. Hurt, Trustee of the Liquidating Trust of Homeowners Mortgage & Equity, Inc., Appellant, v. Federal National Mortgage Association and Home Securitization Trust 1 (Fannie Mae), U.S. Bank, Appellees., 354 F.3d 372 (5th Cir. 2003)

Jeffrey Scott Levinger (argued), Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, Dallas, TX, for Federal. Nat. Mortg. Ass'n and Home Securitization Trust 1....

• Federal Circuits

• Mortgage Buoy Sinks Some Homeowners

By Josh Brown The Virginian-Pilot

• The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA
• August 16, 2010

• Eight Tips to Help Homeowners Get Their Loan Modification Application Reviewed by Mortgage Company

CredAbility Helps Homeowners Navigate Mortgage Modification Process ATLANTA, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Many homeowners seeking a loan modification to lower their monthly mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure continue to find the application process a complex web, often causing them to give up before their application is ever reviewed by their mortgage company.

• U.S. Newswire
• July 27, 2010

• Despite Home Value Gains, Underwater Homeowners Owe $1.2 Trillion More Than Homes' Worth ; but Negative Equity Is a Paper Loss for Most, As 90% of Underwater Homeowners Pay Mortgage On Time; Key Facts:; - Nearly 16 Million Homeowners Were Underwater On Their Mortgages in the First Quarter of 2012, Owing a Collective $1.2 Trillion More Than Their Homes Were Worth. That Is Nearly One-Third (31.4 Percent) of U.S. Homeowners with Mortgages, Compared to 31.1 Percent in the Fourth Quarter of 2011.; - Foreclosure Is Not Imminent for Most Underwater Homeowners. Nine Out of 10 Continue to Make Their Mortgage and Home Loan Payments On Time, with Only 10.1 Percent More Than 90 Days Delinquent.; - Many Homeowners in Negative Equity Are Not Deeply Underwater. Nearly 40 Percent of Underwater Homeowners Owe Between 1 and 20 Percent More Than Their Home Is Worth. However, 15 Percent of Underwater Homeowners - Approximately 2.4 Million - Owe More Than Double What Their Home Is Worth.; - in Some Markets, However, the ...

SEATTLE, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly one-third (31.4 percent) of U.S. homeowners with mortgages - or 15.7 million - were underwater on their mortgage in the first quarter of 2012, despite rising home values, according to the first quarter Zillow(R) Negative Equity Report[1]. Collectively, underwater homeowners owed $1.2 trillion more than their homes were worth. Negative equity rose slightly from 31.1 percent in the fourth quarter, and declined from 32.4 percent one year ago. Negative equity remained high despite increasing home values in the latter part of the first quarter. A slower pace of foreclosures after the robo-signing issues of 2010 contributed to slower progress in working down negative equity. Foreclosures cause homes to come out of negative equity when a bank or thi...

• U.S. Newswire
• May 24, 2012

• Homeowners Lose Gamble On Mortgage Rates

NEW YORK - Homeowners who delayed locking in super-low mortgage rates - think close to 4 percent for a 30-year fixed - may have waited too long. Rates are creeping back up, in part because of the tax-cut deal in Washington. Now those in the market to buy or refinance have to decide whether to take what's available or risk making the same mistake twice.

• Charleston Gazette
• December 10, 2010