The program is currently open to the borrowers who’s loan amounts are up to 105% of the property value and are owned or guaranteed by the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agencies, which are currently sponsored by the US government.

The Director of Federal Housing Finance Agency  James Lockhart has acknowledged in a press conference that the current LTV limit of 105% is being re-considered, however he did not reveal the new LTV figure.

Media reports that LTV limit could be raised to as much as 125% which could theoretically include up to an additional 10% of the borrowers to qualify for the program.

“My sense is that it’s having an impact,” … but “there is obviously still distress in the mortgage market” Bair said in answering questions after a speech to the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank’s annual bank structure conference.

According to Bair, most mortgage holders will continue making their monthly payments if they are brought down to the affordable level, regardless of whether they are in the upside-down mortgage scenario or not. Upside-down mortgage refers to a condition when a home value is lower than the mortgage owed on the property.

Loan workouts are traditionally more difficult to pursue if the credit distress is driven by a life event, such as loss of a job or disability, when compared to the workouts as a result of a structural problems with the loan itself.

Sheila Bair said she would like to see the secondary mortgage market “come back in the right way” with “the right incentive structure” after being a casualty of the financial crisis that started in 2007.

Bair said the agency had added 1,000 staff in the past and is still hiring, commenting on the FDIC’s workload during the recent spate of bank failures.

Mortgage Loan Modification

In the past when homeowners were faced with job loss or a change in circumstances that restricted their ability to afford their home and were not able to pay their mortgage they would have the option to refinance with lower interest rates or sell their property. For most currently this is no longer a viable option.

Struggling homeowners cannot refinance due to plunging property values resulting in upside down mortgages, and even when they find a buyer for their property there is the challenge of not be able to sell for enough to repay the outstanding balance.

According to the data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) 11% of the nation’s home mortgages were delinquent by at least one payment, already in foreclosure or entering foreclosure. 7% of mortgage were at least 1 month past due and 3% of the nation’s mortgages are currently in the foreclosure process. MBA estimated that a total of 2.2 million homes went into foreclosure in 2008, a number the group expects will grow significantly in 2009 as unemployment rises while the home values continue to plunge.

The quarterly survey published by the Federal Reserve, called the Flow of Funds Report, shows the movement of funds between households, businesses, the government, and financial institutions. It also shows whether debt levels increased or decreased and what the savings rate is. According to the report, the total value of all home mortgages in the U.S. was $11.2 trillion through the third quarter of 2008, which ended in September. Theses figures in combination with other hardships American’s are facing paint an uncertain picture with a continually shrinking list of options.

There are several plans already underway lead by Federal Housing agencies & the Treasury, which may be expanded. Two plans that are receiving a lot of attention are being presented by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

The largest plan, known as “Hope for Homeowners” offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) allows lenders to refinance borrowers into an FHA-insured fixed rate mortgage, also know as ‘mortgage modification’, if the lender writes down the existing mortgage balance and pays an up-front insurance premium. Borrowers participating in the plan must share any future appreciation of the home’s value with the federal government. The biggest challenge to face this plan is the resistance of banks and current mortgage holders to agree to write down a mortgage’s principal thus reducing the value of the loan.

The plan run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and used during that agency’s conservatorship of IndyMac last year, lets individual borrowers and lenders re-work a mortgage themselves, but commits the government to share in 50 percent of the losses, should the borrower re-default. This plan has not received as much attention as the FDA plan, and it seems that every week that goes by another plan is introduced to a sour reception.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s most recent report shows delinquency and foreclosure statistics are likely less than market reality. It appears that some larger banks have halted all foreclosures while other banks have stopped keeping track of how far behind borrowers are while they work with those borrowers on modifying their mortgages.

In fact, according to MBA, almost every state had an increase in mortgages that were more than 90 days past due but were not in foreclosure. Normally, a mortgage that is more than 90 days past due is foreclosed on.

Any proposed plan faces a daunting task, given the massive numbers of mortgages in foreclosure and the staggering value of the mortgage market itself however there is hope. Working with your lender to find a mutually acceptable agreement to modify your mortgage seems to be the next step in approaching the end of this painful market normalization.

Many of homeowners have questions regarding the President  Barack Obama’s Housing Plan.  A lot of Americans are in various stages of foreclosure and the help can not come soon enough.   So who is eligible?

The program is expected to help those who are in danger of not making their monthly payments.  The applicants do not have to be behind, but may be asked to demonstrate that they may be short on making their monthly payments.  The program’s eligibility is determined by whether the monthly mortgage payment is above 31% of applicant’s gross income.  Jumbo loans (the loans over $417,000) are not eligible and neither are second mortgages.

The lenders and loan servicers are encouraged to participate in the program by receiving subsidies and various incentives from the government but are not otherwise required to participate.  Servicers receive $1000 per loan modification and will continue receiving $1000 each year for three years if the borrower continues being current on the loan.

While the plan which is scheduled to begin on March 4th 2009 is estimated to help 9 million homeowners, there are certain groups that are unfortunately outside of the plan’s reach. Here are the five most important things you Must know about the HASP:

1. Homeowners with conforming mortgages (mortgages under $417,000) may qualify to refinance at a lower rate. Some homeowners may be able to qualify even if they have never been seriously behind on their mortgages.

2. Homeowners with subprime or so-called “exotic” loans may qualify
to modify their current loans to make the payments more affordable.

3. Both of the above groups may be able to qualify even if their property is worth as much as they owe.

4. Homeowners who’s loan amounts are much higher than the value of their property most likely are outside of the scope of the proposed plan. This unfortunately will affect the markets where real estate prices have taken the steepest declines, such as California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona.

5. Homeowners who’s loans were not securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac may find it difficult to refinance or adjust their rates. Most homeowners may not know or realize that unless they have specifically asked their lenders.

WASHINGTON  —  When it comes to homeownership, Hispanics in New Jersey, single parents in California and senior citizens in Rhode Island all have something in common: More than a third have an unaffordable mortgage.

Inequality in America has traditionally followed familiar patterns of race, age and education. Those long-standing gaps have been magnified by the real estate boom and now the historic bust, according to an Associated Press analysis of 2007 Census Bureau data.

While minorities have made significant gains in wealth and home ownership since 1990, “things are going into reverse gear,” and now the homeownership rate for blacks and Hispanics is falling, said Edward Wolff, a New York University economist who studies income and wealth distribution.

Nearly 9.5 million households, or nearly one out of every five of the nearly 52 million homeowners with a mortgage, spend 38 percent or more of their pretax income on their mortgage payment, property taxes and insurance, the AP’s analysis found. That’s the new threshold to qualify for the loan assistance program launched last month by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies now under government control.

Not surprisingly, the most financially burdened are in California, Florida, Nevada and the Northeast, areas hardest hit by soaring home prices and now foreclosures.

Yet in every state, there are many pockets of homeowners who are just one unexpected medical bill or car repair from falling behind on their mortgages and setting the foreclosure clock ticking.

The AP’s analysis reveals the enormous scope of the U.S. housing market bust and how unevenly the burdens are spread, both geographically and demographically. And the situation is worsening — a record 10 percent of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage are at least one payment behind or were in foreclosure as of last fall, compared with 7.5 percent a year earlier and just under 6 percent in 2006.

The burden is clearly more arduous among minority households, the AP analysis found.

Just under a third of Hispanic homeowners spend at least 38 percent of their income on housing expenses, compared with about a quarter of Asian and black households and nearly 16 percent of white households.

In much of the country, the trend is more pronounced. For example, included among those who spent at least 38 percent of their income on housing are:

About 40 percent of black borrowers in California, Nevada, Oregon and Massachusetts.

More than 30 percent of of Asian borrowers in California and Florida.

Nearly half of Hispanic homeowners in Rhode Island and at least 40 percent in Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

Many Latino families wound up with expensive subprime mortgages because they often have cash income and no bank account, said Janis Bowdler, associate director for wealth building at National Council of La Raza in Washington.

It is common for Latino families to have stable incomes, but limited credit histories — and hence lower credit scores, which lenders use to gauge risk. Many have multiple sources of income, some of it in cash.

During the housing boom, consumer advocates say it was both faster and more profitable for mortgage brokers and loan officers to put Hispanic families in loans that didn’t require proof of income, but charged higher interest rates.

“They had them out the door in a fraction of the time,” Bowdler said. “They were definitely getting more expensive loans.”

Now, Hispanic households like the Cazares family of Visalia, Calif are caught up in the mortgage crisis. Out of work for more than a year after contracting a rare disease caused by an airborne fungus, Joel, 36, brings in $550 a week in disability payments. His wife Maria, 34, makes about that much money weekly by working as a hair stylist.

They haven’t made their $2,500 home loan payment in four months. The couple, who have three kids, have been waiting since October for a loan modification from IndyMac Bank, which was seized by the federal government last July. They hope it will bring their payment down to a more manageable level of around of $1,500.

In the meantime, they buy supersized bags of generic cereal to make ends meet. They’ve canceled their Internet service and are only using one of their two cars, a pickup truck, because it gets better gas mileage.

Our money’s like a piece of gum,” Joel Cazares said. “We’re making it stretch as far and as long as we can.”

The AP’s analysis also found that education level is highly correlated with income and mortgage expenses. Nearly one in three of those without a high school or college diploma spend at least 38 percent of their income on housing, compared with only 12 percent of those with advanced degrees, the AP analysis found.

In addition, seniors spent a far higher share of their income on housing than any other age group.

While about half of seniors own their homes outright, the other half often face financial challenges and diminished earning potential.

Among seniors with a mortgage, nearly three in 10 spend at least 38 percent of their income on housing, according to the AP analysis. The stress is most severe in nine states: California, Washington D.C., Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

As the pain from the mortgage crisis spreads, Washington is abuzz with talk of new efforts to stabilize the housing market and stop the freefall in home prices. President-elect Barack Obama has pledged to direct up to $100 billion in financial bailout money toward a sweeping effort to prevent foreclosures.

Frustrated housing counselors around the country say that if the Bush administration had grasped the severity of the foreclosure crisis earlier and enacted more ambitious programs long ago, the pain for American families and the economy might not be so severe.

“So far, we haven’t seen the mortgage products or resources that we really need to help people who are at risk of losing their homes,” said Brenda Clement, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition of Rhode Island.

To be sure, housing counselors acknowledge that some borrowers only have themselves to blame. They clearly got in over their heads and many knowingly took out risky loans. But they also say that mortgage brokers and lenders took advantage of the elderly, immigrants and the unsophisticated.

For decades, the government and most lenders considered homeowners who spent 30 percent or more of their income on housing to be financially strapped.

But that rule of thumb got thrown out the window during the housing boom. When prices were soaring, many Americans could only afford to buy a home by taking out ever-riskier home loans. Lenders were happy to cooperate, because if the homeowner defaulted, the property could still be sold for enough money to cover the loan.

House-rich and giddy, American attitudes about debt and the risks that go with it changed dramatically.

“The average American is in hock up to his eyeballs,” said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s in New York.

That’s especially true now that prices are falling and around 13 million households, or about one in four with a mortgage, owes more to the bank than their properties are worth, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at economic forecasting firm Moody’s Economy.com

One of those “underwater” borrowers is Heather Noble, 36, who lives outside Detroit and can see five foreclosures from her front porch. A single mother, she struggled to make her mortgage payment since being laid off from her job in October 2007.

Late last summer, she started a $17-an-hour job handling billing for a doctor’s office, but making her home loan payment of around $1,000 a month was a stretch because her take-home pay is at most $1,600 a month, depending on the amount of time she works.

Starting last spring, she spent hour after hour on the phone talking to what she describes as “every human being and division possible” at JPMorgan Chase & Co., before obtaining approval for a loan modification.

Noble’s modification had been held up until the fall, and she was actually blocked from making her monthly payment until the Associated Press made an inquiry into her case. “In the large volumes that we’re handling, we occasionally will miss something,” spokesman Tom Kelly said.

Her two home loans have now been modified. Effective Feb 1., her new monthly payment will be a much more affordable $683 a month.

“That I can pay,” she said. “Now I can pay my bills and stay current and not worry about losing my house.”

Among single parents like Noble, more than a quarter in Michigan and about 27 percent nationwide spend at least 38 percent of their income on housing. And in California the strain is far worse: About four in 10 single parents meet that threshold.

And what worries Avis Holmes, director of Detroit Non-Profit Housing Corp. in Detroit, is that much of the government’s financial aid isn’t targeted at those who are in the greatest danger of losing their homes.

So far, Holmes said, “there are no rescue funds for the homeowners.”

reported by FoxNews.com on Thursday, February 19th 2009

mortgage modification program

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said Thursday in an interview that it’s critically important that banks and lending institutions “step up to the plate” to help make certain the Obama administration’s new home foreclosure initiative succeeds.

“This started as a mortgage crisis but it’s become a jobs crisis,” said Donovan following the announcement of the $75 billion plan to help prevent foreclosures.

In an interview with the “Today” show on NBC Donovan stated that the administration feels confident that enough requirements are put in place to ensure refinancing by the banks which will “tip the balance for millions of homeowners.”

Sheila Bair of Federal Deposit Insurance Company stated that the while some foreclosures will be unavoidable, the plan should help bring the foreclosure levels to the historical averages.

The plan’s key provision for mortgage modification will only benefit the people with good credit under the new plan, Donovan said in the interview.

“There are clearly a number of homeowners around the country who won’t benefit and shouldn’t benefit”, Donovan said referring to the investor homeowners that never intended to occupy the purchased property.

Reported by Associated Press on February 19th 2009

stop foreclosure

“It will not rescue the unscrupulous or irresponsible by throwing good taxpayer money after bad loans. It will not help speculators who took risky bets on a rising market and bought homes not to live in but to sell,” Obama said Wednesday. “It will not reward folks who bought homes they knew from the beginning they would never be able to afford.”