"The bank was actually selling our house right out from under us! I didn't think it was possible, but we live in a state where the bank can start selling your home if you do not pay your mortgage. So we got a notice that they were selling and didn't know what to do. We weren't even sure we wanted to live there anymore as it was worth a lot less than what we paid for it. But we had no idea about the impact foreclosure has until we learned about it from a friend. We did want to be able to get a fresh start and didn't want a foreclosure haunting us for years to come. So we contacted 1st Foreclosure Prevention and they were able to help us stop foreclosure. They stopped the sale and then helped us sell our house. They really ended up saving us."
"I was so stressed out in trying to figure out how I was going to stop foreclosure from happening to me that I actually had to see a doctor for stress. I struggled hard to buy my condo and wanted to keep my home and save my home from foreclosure. But it was getting difficult because the mortgage amount kept going up. I had an adjustable rate mortgage and the rate kept rising. On top of that, I lost my job and got behind in payments. I thought that this was it, I was not going to be able to stop foreclosure. Then I found 1st Foreclosure Prevention. They were able to stop foreclosure from happening to me and allow me to keep my condo. I am now all caught up, have a new job and happier than ever thanks to them."
"I was going through a divorce and was about to lose the house. I didn't want to keep the house but I didn't want to go through the foreclosure process, either. But I had no idea that there were other options open to me in my state until I contacted 1st Foreclosure Prevention. I talked everything over with a very nice loss mitigation specialist and they gave me a personal and free foreclosure consultation. They were able to actually stop the foreclosure process and I was able to stay in my home until it was sold. After the divorce, I was able to buy a new home for myself and my children."
"The foreclosure process is a nightmare and I never wanted to go through with it. But I really didn't think that there was anything else that I could do. I tried calling the bank, begging them to help me modify my loan and got nowhere. I finally contacted 1st Foreclosure Prevention and they were able to modify my loan within a matter of weeks! I guess that they are better at negotiating than I am. It was really easy on my part, too, as I didn't have to worry about anything except getting them the right paperwork. They were really nice, helpful and helped to stop foreclosure."
"I really thought that there was nothing you could do to stop foreclosure once it started. I was wrong. I found out that a borrower has plenty of rights and can get foreclos"
"We didn't want to go through the foreclosure process. We were so embarrassed that we were facing a foreclosure and knew that all our neighbors would find out. A couple down the street had a foreclosure and they posted a sign on the property. It was so embarrassing. But we knew that it was coming. My husband lost his job and we were really struggling to make ends meet. We didn't want to lose our home, but felt we had no choice. We were really ashamed of what happened to us. Then we talked to 1st Foreclosure Prevention and they made us feel so much better. They didn't make us feel ashamed and actually gave us the foreclosure help we needed. Thanks to them, we didn't have to go through the foreclosure process that would have pained the entire family."
Home / Obama Administration’s Foreclosure Plan Is Helping Some,
Obama Administration’s Foreclosure Plan Is Helping Some, but Maybe Not Enough
Since the inception of the Making Home Affordable program in March of this year, ever increasing numbers of homeowners have benefited from the plan. However, many borrowers could still lose their homes due to shaky economic conditions.
The Making Home Affordable program subsidizes the costs of loan modification for both lenders and borrowers, in an effort to lower the monthly mortgage payments for borrowers. It is estimated the up to 9 million Americans are eligible for this type of loan modification.
However, many potential borrowers are reporting they are having considerable difficulty when attempting to get information about the program from lenders.
According to some estimates, over 650,000 delinquent borrowers received some form of relief to help prevent foreclosure. However, the Treasury Department notes that this is a mere 20% of the borrowers eligible for assistance.
Most of the eligible borrowers are from states that have been making headlines for record-breaking foreclosure rates and fiscal insolvency. In California, over 130,000 borrowers were able to get foreclosure help, and in Florida, approximately 82,000 got help, largely through interest-rate reductions under the loan modification program.
45 lenders, including 5 well-known mortgage service providers are participating in the program. Citigroup is leading the pack, having provided up to 40% of loan modifications to date, while Bank of America comes in second, with approximately 14%.
Treasury officials are pleased with the performance so far, but indicate that there is plenty of work ahead to ensure borrowers stay solvent.
Many of the difficulties in completing the loan modification process with borrowers seems to be in the administrative details. Delinquent homeowners must provide considerable documentation in order to prove they are eligible during what is called the “trial phase” of the modification process. They must also make several payments. If this trial phase is completed successfully, the loan modification will be made permanent. Initially the trial phase was to span three months, but had to be lengthened due to lenders having difficulty collecting comprehensive information from borrowers.
As a result of these administrative hassles, the Congressional Oversight Panel, responsible for monitoring the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds, indicates that fewer than 2,000 out of 400,000 borrowers had made it to the permanent modification stage.
Some government officials wonder if the $75 billion in outlays for the program are being used effectively. Economists are also predicting many borrowers are likely to default in the future, and that even these efforts cannot prevent future losses.
