I try to be as journalistic as possible on this blog. One of the ways I strive to do so is by presenting both sides of the story. We’ve read comments and published posts that call out the many frustrations borrowers have experience with Bank of America when trying to either modify or refinance their loans. Up to this point, not one comment on this blog or one news article that I’ve read sang the praises of the country’s largest lender. Like I said…until now.

One of our readers, “Steve,” recently shared a comment with us that said his BofA refi was “the best New Year’s present [he] ever had in [his] life.” Here’s Steve’s story: Read the rest of this entry »

You don’t hear much about the Federal refinancing effort these days. In what started out as the focal point of the Treasury’s two-pronged attack on the housing crisis, soon became dwarfed by the rescue’s other facet: modification.

So why haven’t we heard much about the Making Home Affordable refinancing program lately? Perhaps it’s because the program isn’t doing well, or perhaps because the audience that it was designed for is opting for other solutions besides refinancing.

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An opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today warned readers that Ginnie Mae and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), because of their growing influence in the mortgage market, are quickly becoming a growing financial liability to American taxpayers:

Only last week, Ginnie announced that it issued a monthly record of $43 billion in mortgage-backed securities in June. Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin sounded almost giddy as he cheered this “phenomenal growth.” Ginnie Mae’s mortgage exposure is expected to top $1 trillion by the end of next year—or far more than double the dollar amount of 2007. (See the nearby table.) Earlier this summer, Reuters quoted Anthony Medici of the Housing Department’s Inspector General’s office as saying, “Who would have predicted that Ginnie Mae and Fannie Mae would have swapped positions” in loan volume?

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Which one? You know, the one where a government program is announced and with it comes an astronomical number of the amount of people it could help.

National Mortgage News reports that research conducted at Amherst Securities Group (ASG) reveals that the July 1 expansion of the Home Affordable Refinance program could help as many as 2.25 million borrowers reduce their mortgage payments. The administration claimed that under the program’s original structure — in which only borrowers who had a loan to value of between 80-105% could participate — over 4 million homeowners were expected to benefit. Does this mean that, with the expansion, ASG expects the program to impact over 6 million homeowners?

On Friday the Washington Post reported that Federal officials “scolded” many of the nation’s largest lending institutions, pressing them for increased participation in the Making Home Affordable program. The program’s success rate is far below what administration officials had predicted: Read the rest of this entry »

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced this afternoon that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will now begin refinancing loans with a loan-to-value (LTV) of up to 125% under the Home Affordable Refinance Program. Federal officials have concluded that by expanding the eligibility of the effort, more underwater homeowners will be able to refinance, spurring the recovery of the housing market:

“This decision is part of our ongoing efforts to maximize the effectiveness of the Making Home Affordable program and adapt to an ever-changing housing market,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “By expanding refinance eligibility, we can bring relief to more struggling homeowners more quickly. It’s a crucial step in our broader efforts to get America’s housing market and economy on the path to recovery.”

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Last week we reported how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s boss, the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), was considering whether or not to expand the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) by refinancing loans with an LTV of over 105%. The program’s apparent lack of success has regulators scrambling to find ways to help more homeowners:

“We’re actively considering how to structure a program that makes sense over 105 percent,” Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart said yesterday. He said a ratio of 125 percent “is a number” that’s on the table, though “not necessarily the number we’re going to end up with.”

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Countless programs, initiatives and strategies have been implemented to help quell the rampant rise in foreclosures. While nearly every one of those plans was designed to shorten the crisis, the end result of one law may preserve the high levels of foreclosures — extending the crisis.

Starting today, California has instituted a 90-day mortgage moratorium: Read the rest of this entry »