Whether you’re in foreclosure, in receipt of a late notice, or just under-water on your mortgage there’s probably a Federal Government program to help you.
Some Good News
As we approach the fifth (5th) anniversary of the Great Recession we’re seeing some positive economic indicators. Unemployment is trending lower, major stock indices are at record highs, and the U.S. Dollar is strengthening.
More Bad News
The housing market continues to bounce along the bottom however, mainly due to a persistently high foreclosure rate. After peaking in September the national foreclosure rate was 4.15% in February. Housing market analysts Reality Trac forecast a further 25% increase in foreclosures this year; up from 804,000 in 2011 to 1 million. Core Logic reports that 6 million homeowners are currently behind on their mortgage and 11 million are under-water.
Federal Assistance
The Obama Administration is currently offering a multitude of programs to improve the housing market. Under the Making Home Affordable (MHA) banner it seems like there’s an ocean of money propping up lenders and encouraging them to assist borrowers. Most MHA programs are designed to help homeowners by reducing mortgage payments and keeping them current on their obligations and out of the foreclosure pipeline.
Take a look at the available MHA programs and see if there’s one that can help you. If you’re entitled then it’s probably a good idea to take that money off the table and put your resources to more productive use, depending on your situation.
MHA Programs:
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Home Affordable Modification Program SM (HAMPSM)
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Principal Reduction Alternative SM (PRA)
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Second Lien Modification Program (2MP)
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FHA Home Affordable Modification Program (FHA-HAMP)
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USDA’s Special Loan Servicing
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Veteran’s Affairs Home Affordable Modification (VA-HAMP)
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Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA)
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Second Lien Modification Program for Federal Housing Administration Loans (FHA-2LP)
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Home Affordable Modification Program for Rural Development Loans (RD-HAMP)
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Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)
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FHA Refinance for Borrowers with Negative Equity (FHA Short Refinance)
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Home Affordable Unemployment Program (UP)
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Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (HHF)
Contact the MHA hotline today and see if you qualify for mortgage help: 888-995-HOPE (4673)
While I agree that we could very well see increased foreclosures this year over 2011, I hope that more aid is on the way. Unfortunately, most current programs do little to help the unemployed or underemployed. No income = no assistance, typically. I hope there’s more that can be done about this, and perhaps banks will be more lenient after this latest lawsuit that settled.
I think lenders are more willing than ever to work with borrowers. It’s interesting to note the differences in how States process foreclosures. Judicial forclosure States (court system) have up to a 3 year back log of cases, whereas non-judicial states (no court or judge required) process foreclosures in about 3 months. The non-judicial foreclosure rate is about 2%, much lower than the national average.
I refinanced under HARP and it helped a bit. Now I’m thinking I shouldn’t have paid down the principle because maybe we could qualify for principle reduction! Oh well, live and learn. I’ll check those other programs.
It’s hard to know how much money the Government will throw at housing problems. In 2008 they started helping people to purchase homes by providing repayable tax credits of around $7,500. When this was not working They changed the program to make this a gift, with no repayment required. Timing was everything for people purchasing a house then.
We recently did a loan-mod instead of a re-fi. Cheaper, faster, perhaps a higher rate than a re-fi but only 10% of the fee.
I’m wraping up a refi under the terms of HARP 2.0 in the next week or so. It went super smooth this time around. I also heard that Bank of America has to write down a bunch of homes as much as $100,000 but only if they were purchased with mortgages signed under false pretenses or something along those lines.
Yes, shame big-banks, shame. The robo-lending crisis has come back to bite them. People are too well connected and informed today to be scammed by corporations. They need to do the right thing by consumers and society or go out of business.
I’m wrapping up a refi under the terms of HARP 2.0 in the next week or so. It went super smooth this time around. I also heard that Bank of America has to write down a bunch of homes as much as $100,000 but only if they were purchased with mortgages signed under false pretenses or something along those lines.
Wow, I had no idea there were this many programs currently at work. This would be a great resource for anyone looking to change their housing situation. I personally took advantage of the HARP program and I can testify that it was very painless. The result? $100 less per month. These are definitely worth looking into.
I can’t believe it’s almost been five years since the economic downturn began. We’ve been fortunate that our house has held its value relatively well and we haven’t had to use any of these programs, although we are considering an FHA loan for our next house.
I am waiting for a good foreclosure price around my area, I don’t think bottom is reached yet, although there was a temporary price increase here in So. flo.
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