First we had the FHA Secure loan that was “supposed” to be a life raft for hundreds of thousands of homeowners. Then we had the Hope Now coalition led by US Secretary Paulson and his army of lenders that took out their freeze guns and placed a “limited” amount of loans in a “secret” freezer that no one seems to no where (kind of like the Area 51 mystery).
Now we have Project Lifeline, that is designed to pull the people out of the foreclosure waters before they are “just” about to drown. Well, not all the people who are drowning. Just the ones with the water about to cover their noses. Sorry. But hey, some help is better than none or will this help at all? Will lenders have enough man power and really help the thousands of people that fall into this class of people.
This is another FHASecureHopeNow5YearFreezeLifeLine that I am going to be watching very closely.
Details of Project LifeLine:
- Under the Project Lifeline program, homeowners 90 days or more behind in their mortgages will get a letter from their lenders asking them to call. Borrowers will be asked if they want to stay in their homes; if so, they will be offered financial counseling.
- Loan modifications are not automatically granted. Borrowers will have to provide up-to-date information about their wages and debts. At that point, the lenders decide whether to pause the foreclosure process.
During the moratorium, foreclosure prevention specialists will determine if there’s a good possibility that a loan modification will work. In other words, will a borrower be able to regain his footing and start paying his mortgage again? - Any loan modifications – such as lowering interest rates, balances or both – will be provisional. After homeowners make payments on time for three months, the changes to the terms of loans will become permanent.
Project Lifeline News From Market Watch
The program is not a solution to the housing crisis but is considered a “pause” in the foreclosure process, giving homeowners an extra 30 days to work out a payment or modification program. Some 1.3 million home loans are either seriously delinquent – meaning 90 days or more – or already in foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
‘Project Lifeline is aimed at homeowners who face a real risk of losing their home but have not yet addressed the problem.’
— Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
“None of these efforts are a silver bullet that will undo the excesses of the past years nor are they designed to bail out real estate speculators or those who committed fraud,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in announcing the program.“These efforts are to help American families who both want to and can, through a loan modification or refinancing, stay in their homes,” he added
More on Project Lifeline from CNN -
“For many families, Project Lifeline will temporarily pause the foreclosure process long enough to find a way out. Loan modifications may follow,” said Alphonso Jackson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. “This program is not only available to subprime borrowers but to people with any kind of home mortgage.”
The banks so far participating in the program are Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500).
Project Lifeline was put together with the backing of Jackson, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Faith Schwartz, director of Hope Now, the government-backed, foreclosure prevention coalition.
Paulson said the effort won’t be a magic bullet.“There’ll be homeowners who still take no action, and some will still walk away,” Paulson said. “But some borrowers facing immediate foreclosures may find solutions.”
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WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALLREADY LOST THERE HOMES? WHO OR WHAT IS GOING TO HELP THESE POOR PEOPLE.ITS BECOMING MORE APPARENT THAT NO ONE IN THIS WORLD GIVES A SHIT ABOUT ANY ONE.HUNGRY PEOPLE DONT GO HUNGRY FOR LONG.THIS IS GOING TO TURN GOOD PEOPLE INTO CRIMINALS .PEOPLES LIVES ARE GOING TO BE DEVISTATED ,FATHERS WILL BE IMPRISONED,I FEEL FOR THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LOST THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS US ALL SAIN, SAINTUARY.PEOPLE ACROSS THE BORD NEED TO REALIZE THAT THEY NEED TO BE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT ITS LIKE WHENE YOUR LITTLE 3 YEAR OLD GIRL KEEPS ASKING WHENE CAN WE GO HOME? WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE AS YOUR LIVING IN YOUR CAR HOTEL ,BECAUSE NO ONE WILL RENT TO YOU AND WELFARE WONT HELP .THEY WAUNT YOU TO SELL YOUR CAR IF LUCKY THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE LEFT TO BUY A CHEEPER CAR THAT IS LESS RELIABLE,MAKING YOU LATE AND FIRED FROM YOUR JOB BECAUSE WHY?NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ANY MORE.TRUTH AND PEN I REGREAT WONT WIN THIS WAR ,AND DONT YOU WORRY THE POLICE ARE RIGHT THERE TO GUID YOU DOWN A WHOLE NEW AVE,TO TAKE YOU FURTHER DOWN THE PATH OF DEVISTATION WAKE UP AMERICA WAKE UP,PLEASE AMERICA PUSH ALL RELIGON ASIDE POLITICS,AND STAND UP TO OUR GOVERNMENT,POLICE,AND ALL WHO DONT SUPPORT HUMANITY.
Want some cheese with that whine?
The question still remains whether this project will help or not but the fact remains that many people are losing their homes to foreclosure every day.