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 »

We hear from a lot of disappointed Bank of America customers. Yet I guess when you make 15 trial modification payments on time (when technically you only have to make three) and then out of nowhere BofA tells you that you no longer qualify for a modification and your home is moving to either foreclosure or a short sale, “disappointed” doesn’t really capture the true essence of your emotions.

In the latest tales of missing paperwork, communication breakdowns and out-right oddities, we have another example of how the entire Making Home Affordable system is so totally broken.

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I came across an article in The Street this morning (hat tip: National Mortgage Professional Magazine) that was an “edited transcript of [Treasury Department spokeswoman Andrea Risotto's] response to specific criticisms” concerning the home affordable modification program (HAMP).

I was hoping this article would provide some concrete explanations to such long-standing questions as “what is taking so long, what’s with the lack of success, why has the program changed so often and why are the results so much better for servicers outside of HAMP?” Unfortunately, Ms. Risotto’s responses didn’t reveal too much new or enlightening information that would help us get a better sense of what we can do to make this program better.

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The Home Affordable Unemployment Program (HAUP) begins today. It is designed to provide relief to unemployed homeowners. HAUP (referred to as “UP”), “offers eligible unemployed borrowers a forbearance plan to temporarily reduce or suspend their mortgage payments.”

By August 1, 2010, all servicers who are participating in Making Home Affordable will be helping homeowners who are struggling to stay current because of unemployment.

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Earlier this week the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) received yet another black mark on its increasingly-poor record. Reports now say that more borrowers have dropped out of HAMP than have graduated to “permanent” successful loan mods. According to our friend Alan Zibel at the Associated Press (AP), 155,000 borrowers dropped out of HAMP in May alone; 436,000 borrowers have dropped out since the program began.

How many borrowers has HAMP help so far? Unfortunately, only 340,000. While the program will still be up and running for a few more years, if the numbers continue like this, this program will have failed to even come close to reaching the 3-4 million borrowers it set out to “save” from bad loans or foreclosure.

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Judging by the number of comments each post of ours has received, here’s a short list of the blog’s most popular stories of 2009. Note: If we judged by page views instead of number of comments, this list would be a little different:

“Beware of ‘www.Tagged.com’ Scam” (59 comments): Read the rest of this entry »

Update3: If you’ve been ushered into a long-term trial mod, one non-profit wants to hear your story. Click here to find out more.

Original Post (published 12/10/09): We’ve covered the Treasury’s Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) quite a lot since it’s inception and have been quick to point out the program’s flaws as well as the flaws others have noticed. The White House has focused less on addressing the structural flaws of this program — which we feel have created a host of “unintended consequences” — and more on prodding lenders and servicers to step up their game.

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If it didn’t work the first time, what makes the Obama administration think it will work this time?

What we’re referring to here is Washington’s insistence on shaming mortgage lenders into modifying more loans. We can think of several reasons why this strategy is merely the latest in a string of Making Home Affordable missteps.

Back in August we wrote a post tilted “When All Else Fails, Try Shaming Servicers into Cooperating.” The fact that the words we wrote nearly four months ago are still a perfect fit to describe both the White House’s current gripes and the lenders’ consistent rebuttals indicate that nothing was solved through shaming the first time around: Read the rest of this entry »

UDATE1: Fannie Mae has released the details to a program that will turn struggling homeowners into renters. The “Deed for Lease Program” (DLP) allows delinquent homeowners to rent their home for up to a year instead of being foreclosed upon.

Instructions for Borrowers

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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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