Weather, Mortgage Redos Slow Foreclosure Filings in February

U.S. foreclosure filings declined by 2 percent in February at 308,524 properties compared to the previous month, and up 6 percent from a year ago – the smallest annual increase in four years, according to RealtyTrac’s latest monthly update. One in every 418 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in February, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, reported the online foreclosure resource. “It still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

Obama Short Sale Plan Avoids Foreclosure with Less Debt

A new initiative by the Obama Administration in its slow-moving and often-criticized foreclosure rescue effort will now offer a short-sale alternative that includes some principal forbearance and $1,500 in “relocation” assistance to borrowers. The plan kicking off April 5 — Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, or HAFA – is for homeowners who have already qualified for the government’s primary foreclosure-prevention campaign, the $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program, HAMP, and have failed to complete its reduced-mortgage payments trial.

HUD, Groups Debut Site to Fight Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Scams that prey on desperate homeowners seeking mortgage modifications are soaring and U.S. housing officials have partnered with a national coalition to launch PreventLoanScams.org. The website expects to hear from 50,000 homeowners affected by such foreclosure-rescue scams, according to the Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network, which developed the site.

HAMP Critics: What is the True Foreclosure Rescue Rate?

The question of the true success rate of the Obama Administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program is not being answered by the U.S. Treasury in its public reports, some lawmakers allege. And even housing market experts and watchdogs are saying the foreclosure prevention campaign amounts to a futile effort, with default rates as high as 70 percent projected for borrowers with modified mortgages. On Thursday, a report authored by two House Republicans was released that called HAMP a complete failure.

Fannie to Tap Into U.S. Treasury Again, This Time for $15.3B

Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, already majority-owned by the U.S. government through “conservatorship,” is requesting to tap into a U.S. Treasury credit facility for an additional $15.3 billion in its ongoing efforts to help “every borrower we can and to address rising foreclosures.” That would bring to a total of more than $128 billion sought by both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the Treasury’s open-ended credit line.

Obama Mulls Foreclosure Ban, Forcing HAMP Review

Under growing pressure to improve its much-criticized mortgage relief efforts, the Obama Administration is considering a ban on all foreclosures – unless lenders have screened borrowers for inclusion in the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, according to media reports. Bloomberg first reported the proposal based on a U.S. Treasury document. The plan “prohibits referral to foreclosure until borrower is evaluated and found ineligible for HAMP or reasonable contact efforts have failed.”

Las Vegas, HUD Team Up in Foreclosures Rehab Effort

Clark County, southern Nevada’s population hub that includes Las Vegas, is the first focus of a program by U.S. housing officials to help communities acquire, restore and potentially sell properties abandoned as a result of the unrelenting foreclosure crisis. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, yesterday announced a $1.3 million emergency infusion to help Las Vegas and Clark County with “effects of foreclosure and abandonment in certain neighborhoods,” a HUD statement said.

Chase to Open 14 More Foreclosure Prevention Centers

Chase has opened two additional “homeownership centers” in the New York-New Jersey area – adding locations in the Bronx and Brooklyn – and today said it would open 14 more counseling facilities throughout the country this Spring. It now has 37 such centers to help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosures.

Borrowers Delinquent or in Foreclosure at New High of 15%

The percentage of mortgage loans in the foreclosure process, combined with those at least one payment past due., set a record high of 15 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association report for fourth quarter 2009. Although the MBA stressed that the fourth quarter registered a surprising slight dip in mortgage delinquencies, a trend reversal for end-of-the-year borrowers facing holiday bills and higher heating costs.

New Foreclosure Fix: Obama to Move $1.5B into Hard-Hit States

The Obama Administration will allocate $1.5 billion to state housing agencies to help “underwater” borrowers and those unemployed facing foreclosures in the hardest-hit states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan. The funds are to be re-directed from the government’s primary bailout program, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP. And the state agencies can use the additional aid to help troubled homeowners move into the government’s mortgage reduction program.

Next Page »