PROGRAM LOOKS TO PROVIDE MORE MONEY FOR STRUGGLING HOMEOWNERS

For the roughly four million homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, the federal government is offering yet another remedy: free money to catch up on their loans, SmartMoney.com reported today. The effort, called the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, is the latest in the federal government's efforts to slow down the flood of foreclosures, a necessary step to a meaningful recovery in the housing market, says a Department of Housing and Urban Development official. Loans of up to $50,000 that do not actually need to be repaid if applicants meet certain requirements. http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/real-estate/more-money-for-struggling-homeowners-1309312646029/#printMode

to apply http://ehlp.nw.org/

docs http://ehlp.nw.org/documents/EHLPDocumentChecklistforHomeownersSelectedintheLottery.pdf

program

http://ehlp.nw.org/findaforeclosurecounselorEHLP.asp

EHLP is only available in the following states/territory: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Those states that are not identified above (non-EHLP states) receive direct assistance through the U.S. Treasury's Innovation Fund for Hardest Hit Housing Market Program. The list of Hardest Hit Fund states is provided below. If you live in one of these states, click on that state's name to find out more about Hardest Hit Housing Market Program that is available where you live.   Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington DC

An eligible homeowner:

• Must be a Florida resident;

• Must occupy property as primary residence (the property cannot be vacant, abandoned or rented);

• Borrower/co-borrower must be unemployed or underemployed through no fault of his/her own, which makes the first mortgage unaffordable;

• Must have documented total household income at or below 140% of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for household size;

• Must have an active checking/savings account that can be debited by the ACH method of funds transfer;

• May not have unencumbered assets of $5,000 or more, or three times the current monthly mortgage payment (whichever is greater);

• Cannot have a bankruptcy that has not been discharged or dismissed; and

• Cannot have been convicted of a mortgage-related felony in the last 10 years.

The current mortgage:

• Must be serviced by a participating lender, who agrees to accept payments on behalf of the homeowner;

• Must not be more than 180 days past due at the time of application;

• Must have been originated on or before January 1, 2009; and

• Must have an existing principal balance of less than $400,000.

https://www.flhardesthithelp.org/


http://www.floridamortgagecorp.com/area_median_income.htm


PASCO COUNTY, FL $54,400

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL $54,400

POLK COUNTY, FL $49,500

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL $54,400

http://homes.point2.com/Neighborhood/US/Florida/Pinellas-County-Demographics.aspx

http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il2009/2009ILCalc.odb?inputname=Pinellas%
20County&area_id=METRO45300M45300&fips=1205399999&type=county&year=2009&yy=09&stname=Florida&stusps=FL&statefp=12&ACS_Survey=Yes&State_Count=1.0&areaname=Pinellas%20County&wherefrom=mtsp&level=50

Half of mortgage borrowers could never afford 20% down payment: NFCC

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/06/01/half-of-mortgage-borrowers-could-never-afford-20-downpayment-nfcc/print/

Qualified Residential Mortgage

If the federal regulators' proposed definition of the Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) had been in effect last year, nearly 40% of originations would have failed to meet the 20% down-payment requirement, CoreLogic reports.


In a mortgage-trends publication released this week, the data provider notes that 39% of 2010 originations had a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio about 80%.

"Even if the down-payment constraint is moved down to 10 percent, the impact is large because nearly one-quarter of all 2010 originations had higher LTV ratios," CoreLogic says in its report.

The proposed 20% down-payment standard would cause more sluggish sales in some states in the short term, CoreLogic says. According to the company's analysis, the down-payment requirement would have the least effect in New York, Hawaii and North Dakota, and the greatest impact on sales in Georgia and Colorado, which are examples of states that have a lower-than-average share of below-80% LTV loans.

Mortgages

TransUnion also reported that the average mortgage debt per borrower in the U.S. was $190,115 during the first quarter, up 0.6 percent from the previous quarter’s $189,046.


The area with the highest average mortgage debt per borrower continued to be the District of Columbia at $375,579, followed by California at $338,792 and Hawaii at $313,770. The lowest remained in West Virginia at $99,640.

The share of mortgage borrowers in the United States 60 or more days behind on their monthly payments dropped to 6.19 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2011, according to data released Monday by the credit bureau TransUnion.

RoboSigners
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/lets-make-deal-feds-move-on-robo-signing-settlement-without-state-ags-2011-04-06

Citi Mortgage
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/citi-faces-lawsuit-over-hamp-mod-denials-2011-04-06

If you believe that you have been improperly denied a permanent loan modification by CitiMortgage, Inc., after April 13, 2009, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Eric Lechtzin of Berger & Montague , P.C. at 888-891-2289 or 215-875-3000, or by e-mail at elechtzin@bm.net. A copy of the Complaint can be viewed on Berger & Montague, P.C.’s website at www.bergermontague.com or may be requested from the Court. The docket number is 11-cv-02318.

http://www.bergermontague.com/case-summary.cfm?id=269

Survey: 60% of Americans Frown on Mortgage Abandonment

The majority of Americans say walking away from a mortgage should never be an option for homeowners, even those who are struggling to make their payments, according to a survey conducted by FindLaw.com. No reliable figures exist to pinpoint exactly how many homeowners choose strategic default, which entails walking away and refusing to make monthly payments, but industry experts agree that it has become a growing concern in the fallout of the housing crisis
http://www.dsnews.com/articles/survey-60-of-americans-frown-on-mortgage-abandonment-2011-04-06

Senators Say Down-Payment Requirement Not Their Intent for Finance Law

Senators involved in writing part of a broad financial overhaul measure say that they are dismayed that the Obama administration proposes carrying out their plan by pushing home buyers to come up with hefty sums of cash at the closing table, the Washington Post reported today. The legislation, enacted last year, required banks that pool mortgages and sell them as securities to retain at least a 5 percent stake in those loans. The idea was that banks should have some "skin in the game" instead of selling off the loans and hence avoiding losses should the loans go bad. At the time, a group of senators - led by Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) - successfully pushed to carve out exceptions for certain types of relatively safe mortgages. They left it up to regulators to determine which loans should be exempt. However, the proposal that regulators unveiled last month surprised the lawmakers. Under the plan, mortgages with a 20 percent down payment were deemed safe. That means banks would have to retain a stake in loans with smaller down payments, a costly requirement that the industry said that it would pass on to borrowers in the form of higher interest rates and fees.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/senators-say-down-payment-requirement-not-their-intent-for-housing-finance-law/2011/04/11/AFzPU1MD_print.html

Potential QRM Requirements Could Price Out Median-Income Households

http://www.mortgageorb.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.8102


A typical median-income family would need to save about $3,000 annually for 14 years to accumulate the cash needed to buy a median-priced home with a 20% down payment, assuming closing costs are 5% of the home's price, the group wrote. The same family would have to save for nine years to buy a similarly priced house at a 10% down payment.

Why you are better off with a Bankruptcy then a Short Sale

Waiting periods for new home loans with Fannie Mae:



--Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 or 11 — four years; two years with extenuating circumstances.


--Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 — two years from discharge date or four years from dismissal date; with extenuating circumstances, two years from discharge date or two years from dismissal date.


--Multiple bankruptcy filings — five years if more than one filing within the past seven years; with extenuating circumstances, three years from the most recent discharge or dismissal date.


--Foreclosure — seven years; with extenuating circumstances, three years. Additional requirements after three years and up to seven years include a 90 percent loan-to-value ratio, and the loan must be a purchase of a principal residence.


--Deed in lieu of foreclosure — two years, 80 percent maximum loan-to-value ratio; with extenuating circumstances, two years, 90 percent maximum LTV.


--Preforeclosure sale — four years, 90 percent maximum LTV; with extenuating circumstances, two years, 90 percent maximum LTV.


--Short sale — seven years, LTV ratios per the eligibility matrix; with extenuating circumstances, two years, 90 percent maximum LTV.



http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110312/ARTICLE/110319877/2107/BUSINESS&tc=email_newsletter
 
 
 
By the way your still open for a deficency and a second lawsuit to collect after the foreclosure, deed in lieu or short sale, unless the bank agrees to waive the deficency.   Which they  almost never do.

Geithner Backs New Financing Approach for Mortgages

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner yesterday backed legislative efforts to create a new market for financing mortgages that would help wean the $10.6 trillion U.S. mortgage market from government support, Reuters reported yesterday. Geithner testified before the Senate Banking Committee that he endorsed efforts to create a market for covered bonds, which are securities issued by banks and backed by pools of loans. That is different from the current mortgage system, in which lenders sell many of the loans they make to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which then repackage them as securities for investors. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has warned that a covered bond system could put its bank deposit insurance fund at increased risk for losses because the investors would have seniority over the agency in the event of default. Geithner said such concerns were legitimate and would have to be worked out.
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=482a3e7b-b029-4711-8881-b2dad0b2f1b3

In related news, the Obama administration issued two veto warnings yesterday on bills to kill government housing programs that Republicans plan to take up in the House today, CongressDaily reported today. The bills would end the administration's main modification program, the Home Affordable Modification Program, and eliminate $1 billion remaining in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a program for rehabilitating foreclosed homes. The bills are expected to pass the House but are unlikely to be taken up in the Senate, where Democrats have largely sought to improve foreclosure-mitigation efforts rather than abandon them.

Regulators' Mortgage Servicing Standards Would Tackle Second Liens, Require 20 Percent Down

Banking regulators took a critical step forward yesterday to establishing national mortgage servicing standards by cutting a deal to include some new rules as part of a related risk retention proposal, American Banker reported today. Under the agreement, servicers would be required to offer a loan modification when the value of a borrower's home is greater than its value in a foreclosure. Loss mitigation activities would have to be initiated within 90 days after a borrower was delinquent, and such procedures would have to be disclosed to borrowers prior to a mortgage closing. The servicing rules come as part of risk retention standards, which were required by the Dodd-Frank Act enacted last year. As part of the deal, borrowers would have to make at least a 20 percent downpayment to meet criteria that exempts lenders from retaining a portion of the loan when selling it into the secondary market.

http://www.americanbanker.com/news/regulators-cut-deal-on-risk-retention-servicing-standards-1033720-1.html?zkPrintable=true

U.S. Pushes for Deal in Mortgage-Servicing Cases

The Obama administration is trying to push through a settlement over mortgage-servicing breakdowns that could force America's largest banks to pay for reductions in loan principal worth billions of dollars, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Terms of the administration's proposal include a commitment from mortgage servicers to reduce the loan balances of troubled borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth. The cost of those writedowns will not be borne by investors who purchased mortgage-backed securities. If a unified settlement can be reached, some state attorneys general and federal agencies are pushing for banks to pay more than $20 billion in civil fines or to fund a comparable amount of loan modifications for distressed borrowers.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703842004576162813248586844.html?mod=WSJ_business_LeadStoryCollection#printMode

FED PUBLISHES GUIDANCE ON LOAN OFFICER COMPENSATION

Heeding pleas from industry groups across the country, the Federal Reserve has issued additional guidance to help smaller mortgage lenders and loan brokers comply with new compensation rules that take effect April 1, 2011. Pay structures in which brokers and loan officers are compensated based on the interest rate have been blamed for pushing consumers into unsustainable mortgages and contributing to rising delinquencies. The new rule prohibits this practice to ensure consumers are not steered into loans they can't afford.


http://www.dsnews.com/articles/federal-reserves-loan-officer-compensation-guidance-2011-01-28

FEDERAL RESERVE STEPS BACK ON NEW MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE RULES

The Federal Reserve said this week that it "does not expect" to finalize three pending rule changes under TILA that would have mandated new consumer disclosure requirements for mortgage loans. The Fed began crafting the new regulations more than a year ago in response to claims that borrowers did not understand the terms of the loans they were signing. However, rulemaking authority for TILA and jurisdiction over consumer disclosures is scheduled to transfer to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau within a few months.


http://www.dsnews.com/articles/federal-reserve-steps-back-on-new-mortgage-disclosure-rules-2011-02-02

Fewer Homes "Underwater" as Foreclosures Increase

Trade-industry data released on Monday showed that the number of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth fell in the third quarter, but the decline stemmed from banks getting more aggressive on foreclosures, not from home values going up, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The total of underwater mortgages fell to 10.8 million at the end of September, down from a peak of 11.3 million at the beginning of the year, according to CoreLogic, a real-estate data firm. The latest total accounts for nearly 22.5 percent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage. Home prices, meanwhile, appear to be declining again after tax credits that spurred sales produced modest price gains during the first half of the year. Home values could drop by an estimated $1.7 trillion this year, a 40 percent increase from a year ago, according to Zillow.com, a real-estate website. Most of the decline is expected in the second half of the year.

 
 

Jumbo-Mortgage Lending Thaws

When the credit crisis hit more than two years ago, many banks cut back or stopped making jumbo home loans, but now smaller and regional lenders, along with some bigger players, are issuing more new jumbo loans and doing more refinancings, the Wall Street Journal reported today. In the second quarter of 2010, jumbo-mortgage lenders originated $18 billion in loans - a 20 percent increase from the first quarter. Jumbo lending still remains far below 2007 levels, according to Inside Mortgage Finance Publications Inc. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Chase Home Lending unit increased its jumbo-mortgage volume by 146.2 percent in the first six months of this year over the same period a year earlier, and Wells Fargo & Co. by 47.5 percent, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. PHH Corp. of Mount Laurel, N.J., a mortgage originator and servicer, issued 64.6 percent more jumbos in that period.

A 1/3 of all Home Mortgage Notes are Missing

http://www.housingpredictor.com/mortgages-missing.html

Three major mortgage lenders have halted foreclosures in states where the process is handled through the court system after suspicions surfaced that employees did not legal procedures in preparing the required documentation. GMAC Mortgage was the first to do so, followed by JPMorgan Chase and then Bank of America.



The 23 states listed below primarily use the judicial foreclosure process, with two additional states (Hawaii and Nebraska) employing judicial procedures “fairly often.”




Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

South Carolina

South Dakota

Vermont

Wisconsin

 
 

Old Republic Will No Longer Insure JPMorgan and GMAC REOs

Even more questions about the legality of foreclosure proceedings have prompted Old Republic National Title Insurance to decide it will no longer insure titles to homes foreclosed by JPMorgan Chase and GMAC Mortgage. Chase and GMAC both halted foreclosure sales in 23 states and are reviewing legal filings that they say may have been signed without a notary's presence or without verifying the supporting documents.

Lawmakers Call for Federal Foreclosure Investigation

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and fellow members of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation are petitioning federal regulators and the U.S. Department of Justice to launch a formal investigation into servicers' foreclosure practices. The request was prompted by the recent reports of systemic mishandling of foreclosure affidavits by three major mortgage servicers. Delegation members say they have received thousands of complaints from their constituents, which "appear to outline a clear pattern of misconduct on the part of lenders and servicers."

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/lawmakers-call-for-federal-foreclosure-investigation-2010-10-05

Backlash Over Flawed Foreclosure Paperwork Rises; Many Government Officials Calling for a Freeze

The uproar over bad conduct by mortgage lenders intensified yesterday as lawmakers in Washington, D.C., requested a federal investigation and the attorney general in Texas joined a chorus of state law enforcement figures calling for freezes on all foreclosures, the New York Times reported today. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and 30 other Democratic representatives from California told the Justice Department, the Federal Reserve and the comptroller of the currency that "it is time that banks are held accountable for their practices." Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) sent letters to 30 lenders demanding they stop foreclosures, evictions and the sale of foreclosed properties until they could provide assurances that they were proceeding legally. Both developments indicated that scarcely two weeks after the country's fourth-biggest lender, GMAC Mortgage, revealed that it was suspending all foreclosures in the 23 states where the process requires judicial approval, concerns about flawed foreclosures had mushroomed into a nationwide problem.