Lykmi Pusi
2009-07-17 19:13:36 UTC
"I never expected the housing situation to get this bad. But I'm
doing just fine, thanks." -- George W. Bush
-------------------
"Administration Weighs More Foreclosure Aid"
"Homes Could Be Rented Under Proposal"
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 17, 2009
A top Treasury Department official told a Senate panel yesterday that
the government is considering a proposal to allow homeowners to stay
in their home as renters after a foreclosure.
If enacted, the plan would attempt to address the glut of vacant
properties in neighborhoods across the country, helping drag down home
values. It would be yet another acknowledgment by the Obama
administration that some borrowers cannot be saved from foreclosure
despite government and industry efforts.
"It's certainly an idea we're thinking about," Herbert M. Allison,
assistant secretary for financial stability, told the Senate Banking
Committee. A Treasury spokeswoman said that the proposal was being
studied but that no decision had been made.
"This could make sense as a last resort for troubled homeowners who
would otherwise lose their homes and find themselves with nowhere to
live," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Freddie Mac, the mortgage financing company, launched a similar
program in March, allowing homeowners the choice to stay in their
homes after foreclosures as renters. But the program has not attracted
many participants, said Brad German, the company's spokesman. Most
former owners instead choose to accept money to voluntarily vacate
under a program known as cash-for-keys, he said.
The new proposal comes as increasing numbers of borrowers are facing
foreclosure as they lose their jobs and fall behind on payments.
RealtyTrac reported that foreclosure filings, which can range from
default notices to bank repossessions, were up 15 percent during the
first half of the year compared with the corresponding period in
2008.
The administration is considering initiatives to help unemployed
workers get help with their mortgages, said William Apgar, senior
adviser for mortgage finance at the Department of Housing and Urban
Development. "The current very high level of unemployment is making
the already difficult task of helping families struggling to meet
their mortgage payments even harder," he said.
Under the federal program known as Making Home Affordable, lenders are
paid to lower borrowers' mortgage payments. About 160,000 loans have
been modified into lower-cost loans so far. The administration has
said the federal effort has already been more successful than previous
programs. But officials are also prodding lenders to hire more staff
and better train employees.
It is "disgraceful" that borrowers are still struggling to get help
more than two years into the housing crisis, said Sen. Christopher J.
Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs. "Why am I still reading about lost files,
understaffed and undertrained servicers, and hours spent on hold?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071600699.html
doing just fine, thanks." -- George W. Bush
-------------------
"Administration Weighs More Foreclosure Aid"
"Homes Could Be Rented Under Proposal"
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 17, 2009
A top Treasury Department official told a Senate panel yesterday that
the government is considering a proposal to allow homeowners to stay
in their home as renters after a foreclosure.
If enacted, the plan would attempt to address the glut of vacant
properties in neighborhoods across the country, helping drag down home
values. It would be yet another acknowledgment by the Obama
administration that some borrowers cannot be saved from foreclosure
despite government and industry efforts.
"It's certainly an idea we're thinking about," Herbert M. Allison,
assistant secretary for financial stability, told the Senate Banking
Committee. A Treasury spokeswoman said that the proposal was being
studied but that no decision had been made.
"This could make sense as a last resort for troubled homeowners who
would otherwise lose their homes and find themselves with nowhere to
live," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Freddie Mac, the mortgage financing company, launched a similar
program in March, allowing homeowners the choice to stay in their
homes after foreclosures as renters. But the program has not attracted
many participants, said Brad German, the company's spokesman. Most
former owners instead choose to accept money to voluntarily vacate
under a program known as cash-for-keys, he said.
The new proposal comes as increasing numbers of borrowers are facing
foreclosure as they lose their jobs and fall behind on payments.
RealtyTrac reported that foreclosure filings, which can range from
default notices to bank repossessions, were up 15 percent during the
first half of the year compared with the corresponding period in
2008.
The administration is considering initiatives to help unemployed
workers get help with their mortgages, said William Apgar, senior
adviser for mortgage finance at the Department of Housing and Urban
Development. "The current very high level of unemployment is making
the already difficult task of helping families struggling to meet
their mortgage payments even harder," he said.
Under the federal program known as Making Home Affordable, lenders are
paid to lower borrowers' mortgage payments. About 160,000 loans have
been modified into lower-cost loans so far. The administration has
said the federal effort has already been more successful than previous
programs. But officials are also prodding lenders to hire more staff
and better train employees.
It is "disgraceful" that borrowers are still struggling to get help
more than two years into the housing crisis, said Sen. Christopher J.
Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs. "Why am I still reading about lost files,
understaffed and undertrained servicers, and hours spent on hold?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/16/AR2009071600699.html