Mortgage Lending - Tools & Resources

Mortgage Lending - Tools & Resources: "Mortgages have always involved a lot of paper, and it’s easy to get bogged down in the details. Here we offer some tools and resources to make the issues pop out: a real-time counter of foreclosures; videos; and some of the key stats that describe the impact of abusive mortgage lending on families."

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Making Home Affordable Program

The economic crisis in America is creating a rapidly growing population of the working poor. I know you would agree that the American family faces more challenges today than ever to remain stable. Many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments perhaps because their interest rate has increased or they have less income. Other homeowners pay their mortgages on time but are not able to refinance to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates perhaps due to a decrease in the value of their home. Whatever your situation may be there is help!

The Obama administration initiated the Home Made Affordable program in March of 2009. It will allow homeowners to modify the terms of their loan, and hopefully lower their monthly mortgage payments. Thirty-eight companies are participating in the government program. However, lenders are not required to participate. They are only encouraged. If your lender is not participating or if your lender is not cooperating with you, there are alternative paths to gain access in to the program. In addition to the various government agencies, there are several non-profit organizations enrolling distressed homeowners into Home Made Affordable.

Making Home Affordable website

The Making Home Affordable website www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov, provides homeowners with information need to make an informed decision. This website contains useful information and links to prevent foreclosure.

Website Contains:

• Programs Information
• Self-Assessment Tools
• Eligibility Calculators
• Foreclosure Prevention
• Counseling Agencies
• Foreclosure Prevention
• Resources

Watch this video: Getting The Help You Need
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP3169ENV_k

More Than One Way To Skin A Cat: Get Your Mortgage Modified

Do you feel like you have been spinning your wheels? Have you been working with your lender for months with no solid resolution in sight? Between the lack of communication and loss paperwork, modifying your mortgage can be very stressful. Do you feel like your lender is just not cooperating with you? Do you fear that you will lose your home?

You are not alone. Many of your follow Georgians are feeling the pinch of the mortgage crisis. Georgia is one of the states leading the nation in bankruptcy and foreclosure rates. For three consecutive months Georgia has had the seventh highest foreclosure rate in the country, according to Realty Trac’s July 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. Lenders’ reluctance to modify mortgages, falling real estate values, the steady rise in unemployment, and unfair foreclosure laws are all contributing factors to Georgia’s record breaking foreclosure rates. But, be that as it may, there is more than one way to skin a cat! The government has implemented a program called Home Made Affordable to address this crisis.

The Obama administration initiated the Home Made Affordable program in March of 2009. It will allow homeowners to modify the terms of their loan, and hopefully lower their monthly mortgage payments. Thirty-eight companies are participating in the government program. However, lenders are not required to participate. They are only encouraged. If your lender is not participating or if your lender is not cooperating with you, there are alternative paths to gain access in to the program. In addition to the various government agencies, there are several non-profit organizations enrolling distressed homeowners into Home Made Affordable.

Bruce Dorpalen, director of housing counseling at Acorn Housing Corporation, a national, nonprofit housing counseling agency, announced that his agency has enrolled over 500 homeowners in the Obama plan. The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) has embarked on a national tour called “Save The Dream.” This tour has been developed to help homeowners restructure their home loans with their lender. NACA has helped thousands of homeowners prevent foreclosure. Freddie Mac has announced that they will be hosting workshops and events to address the foreclosure crisis. Additionally, NID housing counseling agency has launched a nationwide campaign to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

However, these initiatives have been somewhat circumvented by the mortgage industry’s hesitancy to stave off foreclosures. Among 2.7 million eligible borrowers, banks have only extended modification and refinancing offers to 400,000 borrowers. Some economists have concluded that in many cases the lender has more financial incentive to let a borrower lose their home than to work out a settlement. The first monthly progress report released August 4, 2009 advised that lenders had only modified 9 percent of eligible borrowers’ mortgages. This report also showed that 10 lenders chose not to modify a single mortgage. Michael Barr, the U.S. Treasury Department’s assistant secretary, said “We expect them to do more. We think they could have ramped up better, faster, more consistently, and done a better job serving borrowers, and bringing stabilization to the broader mortgage markets and economy.”

The Obama administration was disappointed with the report findings that lenders were not modifying mortgages at a moderate rate. They were especially disappointed with Bank of America and Wells Fargo since they received billions in federal bailout money. Since the release of these reports, the government has extracted a verbal promise from the mortgage industry to modify 500,000 borrowers by November 1st. That is the light at the end of the tunnel. So, Skin that cat! Get your mortgage modified! The assistance is out there, but you have to find it. Talking with a HUD counselor is a great starting point to uncovering your options to prevent foreclosure.

Michelle Bible is an aspiring author and spoken word artist. She is a native of Denver, Co also known as the Mile High City, and currently resides in the Atlanta metro area.

Her love affair with words began when she was seven years old. She believes that writing is her vehicle to creatively, express her inner most thoughts, opinions, and impressions of real life situations from a woman’s point of view. She has composed various pieces for special occasions such as weddings, funerals, celebrations, and conventions. Michelle has also performed at the American Legion’s Black History Program, the Queen of Soul Pageant, Sweet Auburn Festival, Douglass High School College Bound Program, and various open mics.

Michelle is currently in the process of composing her book entitled “I Give You A Part Of Me”. Which, she hopes will be completed and published within the near future. In the mean time, she is a freelanced writer.