2/8/11
Fantastic News for Homeowners! A $25 billion settlement has been reached between the federal government and 49 states & the nation’s five largest loan servicers Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup . The servicers have agreed to provide mortgage reductions, refinancing and other loan modification help to homeowners hurt by the housing collapse.
However, the settlement does not apply to loans owned by government-controlled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae — agencies that hold about half of the nation’s mortgages.
Read the article below to understand what this settlement may mean for you.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2012/02/09/what-mortgage-settlement-means-for-homeowners/.
If your interested in learning how this might affect a pending or ongoing bankruptcy contact St. Louis bankruptcy lawyer Tim Powderly.
12/22/11
As more and more homeowners faced foreclosure in recent years, the Federal Government instituted the “Making Home Affordable Program” as part of the Obama Administration’s broad, comprehensive strategy to get the economy and the housing market back on track. One of these programs, the Home Affordable Modification Program, sought to help existing homeowners by modifying their first and/or their second mortgage loans.
However, this program has been an utter failure because of the increased administrative burdens and increased tax burdens on lenders. Also, considered the limits of the programs with the constraining egligibility requirements below:
The Home Affordable Modification Program Eligibility Requirement
Under the guidelines established by the Department of the Treasury, you may only be eligible for a modification under the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program
(HAMP) if:
• Your loan is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or the loan is administered by a servicer participating in the Making Home Affordable program and the servicer is granted permission by the owner of theloan to modify it.
• You occupy the house you’re calling about as your primary residence.
• Your first mortgage is in foreclosure, you are delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable.
• Your loan closed before January 1, 2009.
• Your first mortgage loan amount is $729,750 or less for a single unit home.
• Your home consists of 4 units or less, and you must occupy one unit.
• Your loan has not been previously modified under HAMP.
• Your first mortgage debt-to-income ratio is over 31 percent. This means that your monthly payment is more than 31 percent of your monthly pre-tax income (or your combined monthly income in the case of co-borrowers). In this case, your “monthly payment” includes principal, interest, property taxes, hazard and flood insurance and homeowner owners association due or condominium fees (if applicable). Mortgage
insurance payments are not included in this calculation. The HAMP program expires on December 31, 2012.
More information on HAMP can be found at www.makinghomeaffordable.gov.
For a discussion on the failures of the program check out
http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4560238/hamp-doesnt-work/
If you think you might be facing foreclosure, please seek a free consultation with St. Louis bankruptcy attorney Tim Powderly.
I simply want to tell you that I am just new to weblog and actually enjoyed this website. Most likely I’m likely to bookmark your blog post . You really come with great posts. Thank you for revealing your website page.
In an interest-only loan or the borworer only pays interest each month. This makes it cheaper than a conventional mortgage, in which part of each month’s payment goes towards the principal and part goes towards interest. These loans have become popular because the monthly payments are lower, allowing borworers to afford a larger home.However, these loans can be dangerous, especially in a down housing market. The interest rates are generally fixed for the first 1, 3 or 5 years. After that, they convert to a conventional loan, with a higher monthly payment. Most borworers take on these loans because they assume they will sell the home before the interest rate increases. In a down market, they may not be able to sell. If they cannot afford the increased payment, they may have to default on the loan, and foreclose on the home. So, when the rate starts to adjust, you would need to refinance again. And, either get a fixed or another interest only adjustable. And, yes, I do believe you mean ARM. Although, if you have extra money every so often, you can pay down the principal in extra payments.