HRC Hails Supreme Court Decision on Foreclosures

With the State Supreme Court decision to temporarily halt foreclosure sales of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other lenders participating in the new government program, many families whose loans are eligible for modification will have another chance to save their property. “We are especially pleased because we are beginning to see some flexibility from lenders with respect to the government’s new Making Home Affordable plan, which includes both a refinancing and modification option,” said Toby Smith, a certified and licensed counselor at The Homeownership Resource Center (HRC), a division of Family Services Inc.

“One of our concerns was always that there would not be enough time to get the new program in place for those who were already in the pipeline. This is a wonderful turn of events and we hope it will prove beneficial for those who meet the criteria for modifying their loans. We stress the modification option especially because a client who is behind or who has been behind for awhile does not really have the option to refinance their home loan because of damaged credit,” added Smith.

It appears that the injunction will be limited to 90 days so this represents a significant window opening for many folks who may not have taken any action at all. If a homeowner does not know who the investor is for their loan, that information can be determined by calling the lender, and the HRC is more than willing to help.

“Any time you seek help, you are making a good move. In many cases, something can be done to save a home,” noted Smith. Plaintiffs in foreclosure (lenders) have until May 15th to advise if the loan is subject to modification under the federal program. If the loan is not, then the foreclosure sale can proceed. “The next 10 days will be critically important for thousands of homeowners throughout the state,” stressed Smith.

The HRC continuously holds mortgage default and foreclosure clinics for homeowners who are behind on their mortgage or facing foreclosure. Clinics for the greater Charleston area are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday on each month from 6 to 8 pm at 4925 Lacross Road, Suite 215 in North Charleston. Homeowners throughout the state can locate a clinic near them by visiting the HRC’s website at www.ForeclosureHelpforSC.org or call 888-320-0350. Additionally, for those in the upstate, a clinic will be held this Saturday in the Greenville area at the Metropolitan Missionary Church, 22 Boland Court. Clinic times are 9 am, 11 am and 1 pm and no pre-registration is required. For more information, visit www.foreclosurehelpforsc.org or call 888-320-0350.

Administration Launches New Consumer Website For Responsible Homeowners Seeking Relief

MakingHomeAffordable.gov Features Self Assessment Tools, Calculators to Help Borrowers Determine Eligibility, Payment Reductions under Administration's Refinancing and Loan Modification Program

MakingHomeAffordable.gov

Washington, DC-- The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today launched a new website for consumers seeking information about the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable loan modification and refinancing program. MakingHomeAffordable.gov offers features including interactive self-assessment tools that will empower borrowers to determine if they're eligible to participate and calculate the monthly mortgage payment reductions they could stand to realize under the Making Home Affordable program.

First announced by President Barack Obama in February, Making Home Affordable will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners making a good-faith effort to make their mortgage payments, while attempting to prevent the destructive impact of the housing crisis on families and communities. MakingHomeAffordable.gov is a joint effort of the Department of the Treasury and HUD.

"Education and outreach is central to the success of our Making Home Affordable program," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "Putting resources and tools directly in the hands of homeowners will expedite the process of delivering relief to responsible borrowers, and stabilizing the housing market is central to our overall economic recovery."

"The tools offered on this site will help American families access the help they need even faster," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Communicating how this program works and who is eligible to those who need it is critical to the program's success, and this website does just that."
Since releasing the guidelines to enable servicers to begin modifications of eligible mortgages under Making Home Affordable on March 4th, representatives from Treasury, HUD and other members of a broad interagency task force have conducted detailed briefings and training sessions for mortgage loan servicers and investors, nonprofit housing counselors and nationwide borrower advocacy groups. Through these early and aggressive efforts to arm those interacting directly with borrowers with information, interagency representatives have briefed more than 2,500 participants on the Administration's plans in the last two weeks.

A wide array of large banks to small lenders have already agreed to participate in Making Home Affordable, and servicers have undertaken steps to proactively engage borrowers and respond to their inquiries related to the new program. For example, JP Morgan Chase has put several special tools into place and initiated proactive solicitations to eligible borrowers around the Making Home Affordable program, including an online site to provide program details and allow borrowers to download a new financial information package; increased staffing in a dedicated service center that provides simple entry point for all borrowers, including CHASE, heritage Washington Mutual and EMC; a partnership with Fannie Mae to solicit over 125,000 eligible borrowers; and solicitation to an additional 180,000 non-GSE eligible borrowers.

With those wheels in motion, the Administration is now accelerating efforts to communicate directly with borrowers about the Making Home Affordable program. Features of the MakingHomeAffordable.gov website launched today include:

• Extensive information about the Administration's Making Home Affordable plan
• Self assessment tools to allow borrowers to determine if they are eligible for the program
• A calculator feature that allows homeowners to estimate the reduction to their monthly mortgage payment that they might stand to realize under the plan
• Resources to find free, HUD-approved counseling services for borrowers who have additional questions
• A handy checklist to ensure homeowners collect all the documents they need before calling their servicers
  

New Fannie Mae Loan Lookup Available for Borrowers

As more borrowers become familiar with the Making Home Affordable program, there has been an increase in borrower inquiries regarding the identity of their mortgage investor. To help borrowers answer this question, Fannie Mae has launched the Fannie Mae Loan Lookup for borrowers. The address is: http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

This new tool replaces the existing inquiry feature and provides an immediate answer indicating whether or not Fannie Mae is the investor on the loan at a specific address. Borrowers only need to enter their address information to get a result.

Freddie Mac offers a similar tool. Borrowers can visit Fannie Mae’s Web site, fanniemae.com, or Freddie Mac’s Web site, freddiemac.com, to use the new lookup tools. Alternatively, with the borrower’s consent, you may utilize these tools to quickly determine the mortgage investor for the borrower.

For additional details on the Loan Lookup Tool, please review the Frequently Asked Questions for lenders on www.FannieMae.com.

(author: Julie St. Jean)

Making Home Affordable Plan

Since the release of the new Making Home Affordable (MHA) Plan on March 4th The Homeownership Resource Center, a division of Family Services, Inc, staff has been pouring over the program guidelines and supporting documentation. The initial assessment is that the clear guidelines for modifying and refinancing home loans will level the playing field for homeowners. For example, we can cite many cases of clients with similar challenges being offered vastly different solutions to their problems. Now that the criteria are established, we can focus on moving forward. Additionally, we are encouraged that the counseling component includes the development of an action plan – this will go a long way toward maintaining stability.

The MHA Plan is focused on 2 areas, modifying loans for homeowners who can’t make their payments and offering an opportunity for homeowners who couldn’t take advantage of lower interest rates because of declining home values to refinance.

For homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes and haven’t yet taken any action, this is a good time to come forward. The Homeownership Resource Center has established procedures to ensure that all clients will be screened for eligibility. However, it should be stressed that lender participation in the MHA program is voluntary. We have heard that most of them are signing on to the program, but if some decide against it, The Homeownership Resource Center will continue to do everything we can to help clients balance their budgets and remain in their homes.

Since the March 4th announcement, our counselors have been fielding calls from homeowners about what the program means and information will be available at all of our mortgage default
clinics. The bottom line is this: Doing nothing is the worst thing you can do. If you are in trouble, call 888-320-0350, find the default clinic closest to you and go.


Criteria for the modification of a home loan (www.financialstability.gov)

• Property must be owner occupied.
• Balance must be less than $729,750.
• Loan must have been originated before 1/1/09.
• Mortgages, taxes, insurance and homeowner association dues must be more than 31% of gross income.
• A significant change in the expenses and income makes the mortgage unaffordable.

Criteria for a refinance – homeowner initiates this process with their lender

• Property must be owner occupied.
• Income of the borrower must be sufficient to support the new mortgage payment.
• The first mortgage must not exceed 105% of the current market value.
• Loan must be owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

For more information, please call The Homeownership Resource Center toll free at 888-320-0350 or visit http://www.foreclosurehelpforsc.org/.