Loan Modifications Surpass One Million Mark for 2010

From carrie Bay of DSNEWS
The industry has completed 1.13 million permanent loan modifications for at-risk homeowners so far in 2010, according to data released Wednesday by HOPE NOW, the private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers, and non-profit housing counselors.

For the month of July alone, servicers completed more than 120,000 proprietary loan modifications for homeowners. It was the second straight month that proprietary mods topped the 120K mark. As reported by Treasury Department, mortgage servicers also completed 36,695 permanent mods through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in July.

If a borrower does not qualify for HAMP, mortgage servicers determine eligibility for a proprietary loan modification that may help the homeowner stay in their home. HOPE NOW reports that 86 percent of proprietary modifications completed in July reduced the monthly payment for homeowners in order to make them more sustainable.

The industry group also reports that since January of this year, mortgage delinquencies of 60 days or more past due have dropped 20 percent, as of July 2010. HOPE NOW’s data show that 60-plus-days delinquencies decreased from 3,487,783 in June to 3,298,236 in July, a drop of 5 percent over the one-month period.
A number of analysts have suggested that recent drops in delinquency stats are simply the byproduct of an increase in foreclosures by servicers as they work through the huge backlog of defaulted mortgages and push cases through the pipeline.

HOPE NOW’s data seems to support this assumption. Along with the slight month-to-month drop in delinquencies, the organization also reported that foreclosure starts jumped 22 percent in July and completed foreclosure sales rose 12 percent. July’s foreclosure starts outpaced loan mods during the month by nearly 90 percent.

Foreclosures were initiated on 226,664 homes during the month of July, up from 186,395 in June, according to HOPE NOW. Sales were finalized on 97,951 foreclosed homes in July, compared to 87,842 the month prior.

Faith Schwartz, senior advisor for HOPE NOW, said, “As noted, we did see an increase in foreclosure starts and sales, despite the unprecedented efforts of the industry, along with its government and non-profit partners to offer many alternatives to foreclosure. We believe this is a function of borrowers moving through the pipeline of all eligible program offerings (government and private industry) to exhaust all alternatives.”

Schwartz added, “The increase in foreclosures is also a reflection of the continued challenges facing the economy, particularly the level of unemployment nationwide. We remain hopeful that as jobs start to come back the housing market will stabilize.”

Since HOPE NOW initiated survey data reporting in July 2007, the organization says more than 3.5 million homeowners have saved their homes through permanent loan modifications. This total reflects the combination of proprietary loan modifications plus those completed under HAMP.

Combined with other mortgage options, such as repayment plans and forbearance, the mortgage industry has assisted almost 10.4 million homeowners since HOPE NOW was formed in 2007.

Wachovia Will No Longer Postpone A Foreclosure

NO COPY RIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
Wachovia Will No Longer Postpone A Foreclosure
By Russell Shaw on August 9, 2010

In an effort to stop sellers facing foreclosure from gaming their system, Wachovia has completely stopped allowing any postponement of a foreclosure or Trustee’s Sale. I have long felt that Wachovia was not simply a good lender to deal with for a short sale – truth be told – they were the very best.

I’m being told that this new policy isn’t going to be a “bad” thing. I don’t see it that way. To penalize everyone because of the bad actions of a few is seldom good (even if common).

Here is a copy of a response from Wachovia that was sent to me via the title company:

**IF THERE IS A FORCLOSURE SALE DATE SET – WE WILL NO LONGER POSTPONE THAT DATE FOR ANY REASON – if there is an active foreclosure Sale Date we MUST RECEIVE funds no later than 5 DAYS before that Sale Date, also if there is a SALE DATE set we must receive the full package 10 business DAYS prior to that sale date (and again, we will not postpone that date)**

FOR EXAMPLE:

If you are SUBMITTING A SHORT SALE PACKAGE on a property that has a SALE DATE SET FOR AUGUST 30th, the SHORT SALE APPROVAL WILL BE ISSUED with an expiration date of AUGUST 25th and we will NOT EXTEND the Short Sale approval or SALE DATE.

Sandra Villalpando
Short Sales Manager
Wachovia, REO
I’m hoping that this new policy from Wachovia is reversed. I do understand that some lenders say they will postpone one and then go right ahead and foreclose anyway. I’ve just always expected much better from Wachovia. And rightly so!

Perla Part II

I have spent the last 2 weeks on the phone with the bank. Yesterday I received the notice that the bank granted Perla a Modification through HAMP and that she will receive a package from FedEX within 40 days. She is to review the offer and sign off on it and send it in. This is VERY good news!

I was able to talk with the bank because Perla signed an authorization Release to talk on her behalf concerning her loans. They did not discuss the terms but were happy to give me names and ref numbers incase FedEx “loses” the package. However, I was ready to list as a shortsale and had a hardship packag eready if she were to be denied again. This was her third attempt. I will keep you posted on Perla.

Newer Modifications Less Likely to Re-Default: Barclays

DSNEWS NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED
06/21/2010 By: Carrie Bay

While loans restructured under the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) have been highly criticized for their propensity to re-default, the analysts at Barclays Capital say newlymodified mortgages stand a better chance of staying current. The research firm says the evolution of the government-based mod program is leading to “measurable” improvements in loan performance.

Fitch Ratings recently said that it expects 55 to 75 percent of HAMP-modified borrowers to re-default, as DSNews.com reported last week. But Barclays says “[W]e find that re-default rates on newer modification cohorts are improving every quarter.”

The analysts at Barclays cite three main reasons why they believe newer modifications will be more successful in averting re-defaults.

First, they note that HAMP mandates a three-month trial period. As a result, they say, only stronger borrowers who have provided sufficient documentation may receive permanent modification. Failed trials, Barclays says, are not reflected in the re-default data since they are not yet considered true modifications, and therefore nonperformers are weeded out earlier in the process.

Secondly, Barclays has found that newer modifications include higher share of rate reduction in combination with debt forgiveness. The company’s researchers says these newer modifications result in “meaningful reductions” in monthly principal and interest payments, reducing borrowers’ debt burden and leading to fewer re-defaults.

And thirdly, Barclays says “as the pool of HAMP-eligible deeply delinquent borrowers gets exhausted, we expect more modifications to be performed on newly delinquent borrowers.” The company says these are borrowers who have already managed to keep paying through times of severe economic distress and turned delinquent only recently.
“We believe that these are inherently better quality borrows who have a higher propensity to pay once modified,” Barclays said.

Based on the research firm’s analysis, foreclosure stock peaked in March, totaling 3.8 percent of all mortgage borrowers. Barclays’ estimate of the national delinquency pipeline suggests that foreclosure stock fell by 2.6 percent in April, from 2 million to 1.95 million. The company points out that this decline was the first since 2005, and follows a decrease in the 90-plus day delinquency bucket the previous month.

“For the past year, current-to-delinquent roll rates have steadily improved,” Barclays said in its report. “But foreclosure stock has kept rising, due to programs that delayed homes from going into REO, such as HAMP. Now the tide seems to be shifting.”

Newer data suggests that foreclosure-to-REO roll rates are ticking up while delinquency rates have peaked, Barclays says, signaling that servicers’ efforts have caught up to market conditions and they’re making progress working through the foreclosure backlog.

But at the end of that liquidation chain, Barclays says “REO stock has a long way to go.” The company doesn’t expect the REO inventory to peak until August 2011, at 545,000 homes.

In April, Barclays says, REO stock hit 526,000 properties, primarily due to an increase in GSE REOs. Meanwhile, the company estimates that homes are moving from foreclosure to REO at a rate of 4.4 percent per month. This implies a 23-month timeline between foreclosure and REO, which unlikely to fall substantially in the near term, Barclays says.

The research firm notes that servicers are keenly cognizant of not jeopardizing the housing recovery with additional supply. Barclays also points out that distressed have begun to make up a smaller percentage of overall home sales.

The company estimates that distressed sales were 23 percent of April’s home sales – 122,000 of 521,000. This was a 6 percent decline from March’s distressed share of 29 percent. Of April’s distressed sales, Barclays estimates that 83,000 were REO and 29,000 were short sales. The research and analytics firm expects the pace of distressed liquidations to hover near 130,000 a month over the next two years.

Home for Sale Near Cerritos College

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more info
please contact:
Mark Anthony Ruiz
562-246-5200

Local Cerritos Agent Specializes in Pre-Foreclosure Solutions

Cerritos, CA – 06/10/2010 – Local real estate agent, Mark Anthony Ruiz of CENTURY 21 ASTRO today completed their Pre-Foreclosure Specialist Certification, or PSC, training and announced their intent to become a resource for Cerritos area homeowners in distress. This groundbreaking certification is the first homeowner-centric designation specifically aimed at avoiding foreclosure and completing a short sale. A short sale is when a lender agrees to take a loss on a particular property loan, allowing the homeowner and borrower a dignified way out and getting a new homeowner into the house, as opposed to foreclosing on the property and having it sit vacant for months.

“I obtained this certification with the community in mind,” Ruiz said. “When faced with a possible foreclosure, I’ve seen too many homeowners make poor choices, even walking away from their homes without so much as attempting to contact their lender or real estate agent. These people had no idea about the options available to them.”

“I want to help the people of Cerritos make informed decisions about what to do when in foreclosure or behind on one’s mortgage.”

Mark Anthony Ruiz of CENTURY 21 ASTRO is the latest certified agent with PartnerFirst’s PSC designation, which is sweeping the country and making real estate agents everywhere a vital resource to their community and homeowners.

Son Nguyen, co-founder and COO of PartnerFirst, based in Corona, California, said that too many homeowners in foreclosure or behind on their mortgage payments are moving forward without assistance of any kind.

“PSC Certified Agents are helping distressed homeowners understand that there are alternatives to foreclosure,” Nguyen said. “Mark Anthony Ruiz has been trained to help homeowners avoid foreclosure with a full host of options, advanced training, and a homeowner-first method that will make hima vital resource to their community.”

The PSC designation provides real-estate professionals with the latest in cutting-edge training on everything regarding short sales, including the most up-to-date information on government legislation such as HAMP and HAFA as well as advanced negotiating and marketing techniques. PSCs are quickly becoming an important fixture in any community where foreclosure is looming over homeowners.

Please visit www.PartnersFirst.org

April 5th has come and past…Will HAFA be the one program that works?

So April 5th was the date that “guidelines” were to be set for HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives). HAMP (Home Affordable Modification Programs) failed so this brilliant plan is supposed to help families keep their homes.

Jennifer Harmon from Managing REO wrote….

Can the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program be salvaged or should a new program be instituted?

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., suggested that the government “scrap” the HAMP program and grant all at-risk borrowers the right to rent their homes.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee member urged the banks to create such a rental program with an option to buy.

“We should take the money we have set aside for this (HAMP) program and subsidize the banks if necessary to keep borrowers in their homes,” she said at a hearing.

The California Democrat told the story of a homeowner who entered the HAMP program and made all the monthly trial payments on time.

But he never received a permanent modification and now his house is being sold on April 7. “That is a travesty,” Speier said.

There are 835,000 people in the HAMP payment trials and they should be dealt with equitability, according to Gene Dodaro, acting comptroller general at the Government Accountability Office.

“They entered into this program in good faith. They need to have an appeal process if they are running into difficulty,” Dodaro testified.

Treasury assistant secretary Herbert Allison told the committee that his agency is dealing with this issue. He made it clear that servicers cannot start the foreclosure process while a decision on a permanent modification is pending.

“For HAMP to reach its true potential, implementation must continue to be improved, servicers must recommit to a better borrower experience and outcome and program enhancements must continue,” Allison testified.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program special inspector general Neil Barofsky told the committee members that there has to be a re-evaluation of HAMP.

“Treasury has to look at why these problems are occurring. Do something as simple as setting goals and measuring performance,” Barofsky said.

Treasury has been successful signing up more than 110 servicers to participate in the HAMP program. But HAMP has been plagued by certain errors, Barofsky said. “Servicers have complained to us about constant changes in program guidance.”

Feng Gan and Xu Rui Rui Testimonial for short sale closing today in Monrovia, CA

From when I received their call (from yahoo real estate) to this young couple closing escrow was 20 days. Call me at 562-246-5200 to know exactly how to structure an offer that the bank cannot turn down

Flag Duty or Civic Duty? You make the call…

Flag Duty!  That’s what the young guns of our family/team call the biggest day of the year for The Rayburn Team.  I call it civic duty. My real estate team buys thousands of flags and gets up super early (4:30am)on the 4th of July to pass out flags and place  them on the lawns of all your neighbors.  My mother-in-law started it 30 years ago and religiously has been doing it for at least 25 years.

It takes hours…but the once the feat is accomplished..its quite a sight.  The first time I participated was in 1994 when I was dating my wife.  She said, “Can I buy you breakfast?” I said yeah….Whats the occasion? She said, “Flag duty”. I think I passed out about 2,000 flags by myself. As the years have passed, I have watched countless neighbors give praise and use the Rayburn Team for the real estate needs.

I don’t place flags in ALL of these yards because I want business from them.  I place them because I want everybody to know that the 4th is not about BBQ’s, parties and playing in the sun.  It is about celebrating our Freedom in this Great country of ours.  Its about  young men and women that are fighting in wars to make sure you and I have the choice to do whatever we wish. Its about doing having pride in your city, state and most alll, YOUR country. The American Flag is a beautiful thing.