Less than one-third of the approximately 5 million U.S. residential mortgages that are currently delinquent are eligible for assistance under the government’s HAMP anti-foreclosure program, according to a top Treasury official.
About 1.4 million currently delinquent mortgages are eligible for government-backed loan modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program, according to Timothy Massad, acting assistant Secretary of the Treasury. The program has provided just over 600,000 permanent loan modifications to date. Â Of the remainder, many do not qualify because the mortgage would still be unsustainable even with government assistance, Massad said. In Read the full post
Million Mortgages, Mortgages
The Senate’s new financial overhaul bill will drastically change mortgages
The new financial overhaul bill passed by the Senate late Thursday night contains a number of changes to the way mortgage lenders and borrowers interact.
According to the New York Times, these changes, designed to protect consumers from costly practices from their lenders, will have a big effect on the way mortgages work. They will change not only the way financial institutions can charge fees, but also to the way in which the mortgages are set up in the first place, and how applicants are considered.
Lenders can no longer charge homeowners a penalty fee for paying off their loan prior to the term of the mortgage agreement. Read the full post
Financial Overhaul, Mortgages