De Las Mercedes, on October 20th, 2008 at 8:34 pm Said:

I am having a problem with Countrywide/Bank of America allowing me to apply for this program because I have not been delinquent.

I meet all the qualifications outlined by the Hope for Homeowners program; however, the home retention unit states that I am not eligible because I have not been late with payments yet.

I explained my situation and was told that I should try to short sale the property. My answer is I would like to keep the house. Do you have any suggestions??? Need Help???

EAE2MOM, on October 21st, 2008 at 9:10 pm Said:

I am having the EXACT same problem as De LasMercedes is with Countrywide. What do we do? Please help Read the rest of this entry »

In contrast to Barack Obama’s own homeownership plan, John McCain has suggested a plan to involves more direct federal ownership of distressed mortgage assets. McCain’s plan, entitled the McCain American Homeownership Resurgence Plan, seeks to utilize the recently granted Treasury Secretary authority to use federal funds to help adjust mortgage terms for homeowners.

Simply put, the McCain resurgence plan would use funds authorized to the Treasury Secretary to purchase mortgages directly from mortgage providers. The plan would use tax payer money to buy home loans from banks, and would then re-negotiate the terms of those loans and replace them with more manageable, lower interest rate mortgages to ensure families can remain in their homes.

The campaign states that the plan will “eliminate uncertainty over defaults, support the value of mortgage (securities) and (help unfreeze) financial markets.)

Pre-foreclosure fight statement: “Lenders and borrowers alike were caught up in the speculative frenzy that has harmed the housing market. And it is not the responsibility of the American public to spare them from the consequences of their own bad judgment.” — McCain

McCain’s Foreclosure Fight Plan:

• Under the plan, these new home loans would take the form of Federal Housing Administration FHA fixed-rate loans that would be determined in a sliding scale to allow for continued homeownership.
• The McCain campaign estimates the plan would cost roughly $300 billion of the $700 authorized to the Treasury Secretary under the recent economic stabilization bill with the assistance of the Treasury Secretary, the FHA and the government sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac organizations. Read the rest of this entry »

HUD has released their Hope for Homeowners (H4H) approved lender list that you can access below.

HUD, “When contacting any of the HOPE for Homeowners lenders on the list, borrowers “are strongly encouraged to contact your servicing lender and any subordinate lien holders since their participation is vital for you to refinance into a HOPE for Homeowners mortgage.”

Click here to get the lender list directly from HUD.

Please feel free to report back your experiences with the Hope for Homeowners program or any of the lenders on this list here on LoanWorkout.org or visit our online homeowners forum at www.LoanSafe.org.

There is an open comment form below for you to let your voice be heard.

Good luck and keep up the good fight!

The Hope for Homeowers (H4H) program has been launched and as I have mentioned before here on LoanWorkout, I am very apprehensive as to what this will do for struggling homeowners on Main Street. The reason I am looking at the H4H so pessimistically is because it still leaves lender and mortgage servicer participation in the “voluntary” category and as most consumer advocates and homeowners will tell you, this is akin to beating your head against a steel wall.

Will homeowners finally get hope or is this just another foreclosure flop like the FHA Secure or Project LifeLine? Is the H4H the real deal or will Washington continue to tie the noose even tighter around homeowners necks as they approach the foreclosure gallows?

From HUD:

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 amends the National Housing Act to authorize a new temporary FHA mortgage insurance program called the Hope for Homeowners (H4H) Program. Under this Program, certain borrowers facing difficulty in paying their mortgages will be eligible to refinance into affordable FHA-insured mortgages. The H4H Program effective for endorsements on or after October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking back over the last year, I can’t help but notice the ridiculous amount of clever names used by our government and other consumer advocates in relation to homeowner foreclosure assistance and relief.

The latest Hope for Homeowners program has met little fan fare on this blog because quite frankly, I feel it is just the same ole BS help that makes it only voluntary for lenders and servicers to cooperate and help struggling homeowners.

From the HUD website:

Voluntary Lender Participation

FHA will continue to offer lenders an alternative to foreclosing on borrowers. Similar to FHA Secure’s recent expansion, lenders will be encouraged to write-down the outstanding mortgage principal balances to 90 percent of the new value of the property. In many cases, reductions in principle will cost lenders less than the losses associated with foreclosure.

The success the success of Hope for Homeowners and the others to come before it depends on the lenders willingness and mortgage servicer cooperation to take 10 percent less than the appraised value of a home. Read the rest of this entry »

Sadly, recent events in Washington suggest that this optimism of some kind of meaningful rescue plan for Main Street may have been misplaced and that politicians, never the most economically intelligent of mankind, may be working towards constructing the Great Depression - Part II.

The reality now is that we are heading into a major recession and the largest destruction of wealth that this nation as ever encountered. Much greater than the depression of 1929.

The new sad fact facing us all is that our new mortgage lender (FHA) and quite possibly, property manager (Henry Paulson), will be controlled by none other than Uncle Sam. Can anyone say, “Uncle Sam Realty and Loans Inc?” Read the rest of this entry »

In only the first 4 months of FHASecure, more than 40,000 households have refinanced under the new housing insurance program to protect their families’ investment in the American Dream.  Announced by President Bush on August 31, 2007, along with HUD Secretary Jackson and Treasury Secretary Paulson, FHASecure is already helping thousands of American families, faced with the possibility of foreclosure because of rising interest rates, to keep their homes. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for those 80,000 homeowners who “may” be able to refinance out of their adjustable rate mortgage. But what about the other 1,920,000 homeowners who will be stuck in their exploding loans? A staggering 1.9 million plus homeowners were left to fend for themselves as President Bush announced there would be no bail out for borrowers who purchased homes that he claimed they could not afford.

He forgot to mention that many of these homeowners were pushed into these loans and properties with the help of these lenders and real estate agents who were just doing their jobs. Hell if they could “qualify” for a loan then they can “afford” the home. Right? They were acting on the advice of their “trusted” professional advisor’s. Isn’t that why we have underwriting and guidelines? Isn’t that how they determine the affordability or was that all a dream and those weren’t really loans at all and the houses they live in aren’t really homes after all?

I’m confused Mr. President. You’re just going to kick hundreds of thousands of people on the street because they never should have bought a home they couldn’t afford with the loans that were being sold to them by lenders on every corner.

I’m so sick and tired of hearing that people should have never bought their home if they couldn’t afford it. Don’t you think that most of these people understand that now? I know there are people that can’t be helped and will be casualties of war. That’s life and I accept it and I hope they do too. But there are tens of thousands of people who are in adjustable rate mortgages that were doing fine until their rate adjusted or their negative amortization loan that was pushed on them, stripped their equity.

Now that their loan is exploding, they are in trouble. They made a mistake because they trusted the bank or loan officer that presented the mortgage to them and said, “Don’t worry, in two years we’ll just refinance you right on out of that crazy ARM and into a fixed loan and you’ll be just fine!” You know how many times I heard that one? A lot! What about the people that were SOLD these loans and made promises and took advice from “licensed” professionals? You’re saying their up shit creek without a paddle, that’s what you’re saying.

That’s raping the American people who worked hard for their homes and to protect their credit.

Isn’t it completely ignorant to ruin our economy by not working with the homeowners who deserve to be helped and their toxic loans to be operated on and fixed back to normal? This isn’t rocket science and the FHA Secure Loan is going to do much but cause a blip on the foreclosure radar. Loan Modifications are the ONLY way to fix the foreclosure crisis before it ruins our country and send us into a full on recession.

The clock is ticking Mr. President.

Moe

Founder & Homeowner Advocate
LoanSafe.org
LoanWorkout.org
951-271-6283 Phone
800-734-8819 Fax
Moe at LoanSafe.org Email