The changes reflect the continuing pressure that the administration is feeling to keep the HAMP program on track in the face of growing complaints that the bureaucracy and back-stabbing at the heart of the program are limiting its effectiveness.

Also under the revised rules, homeowners will have 30 days to appeal a rejection and during that time, lenders cannot conduct a foreclosure sale.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Obama administration tweaks program to address shortcomings

The idea is to set aside $1.5 billion in foreclosure initiatives for homeowners in Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, California and Florida. All have seen at least 20% declines in home values in the past year.

So far, so good. The $1.5 billion is part of Obama’s larger $50 billion Home Affordable Modification Program and will be used to create an “innovation fund” that state agencies can tap for various efforts to reduce foreclosures they deem “preventable.”

Some of those plans include helping homeowners going through unemployment, or simply underwater on their mortage, or even those with multiple mortgages and home equity lines of credit. In other words, people who are in a world of hurt and could use the money.

Here’s where the problem comes in. The treasury estimates there are at least 1.5 million homeowners in these five states that meet the broad criteria set out above. It further estimates the cost of modifying their loans at around $12,000 each.

Let’s do the math, shall we? At 12k a pop, $1.5 billion will only provide help for around 125,000 homeowners ($12,000 x 125,000 = $1.5 billion).

125,000 homeowners will surely appreciate the help, but that is a far cry from 1.5 million that are desperately in need of help.

To be fair, Obama has acknowledged that not everyone will be helped under this latest plan – nor is it necessarily advisable that everyone who took out a ridiculous loan should be allowed to get it modified.

“I’ve got to again repeat — government can’t stop every foreclosure,” said the President. “There’s not enough money in the Treasury to stop every foreclosure.”

Of course, let’s hope that the modifications actually make it to the people who need them most and not to simply irresponsible borrowers who helped create the collapse and have managed to find loopholes to avail themselves of the bailout.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Obama’s Newest Initiative Helps … Well, A Few

What’s more, that figure has been on the rise in recent months.

But dig deeper, and there are some worrying trends. The number of new homeowners securing trial modifications is near the lowest levels since the program began. And while the share of homeowners who have converted into permanent modifications has been on the rise, it isn’t nearly enough to keep up with the number of newly eligible borrowers.

Translation? The much ballyhooed Home Affordable Modification Program has been and continues to be successful on the margins, but it isn’t going to stop the large number of foreclosures that will come into the market this year.

Something is better than nothing, of course, but so far it isn’t as much as officials and economists has hoped.

We should have a better idea when paperwork is submitted and tallied for permanent modifications by the end of February and into March.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Obama Foreclosure Program Shows Gains, But Cracks Appear As Well

Short sale real estate transactions happen when a homeowner is unable to sell their home for the price that they still owe on their mortgage. This is very common now since property values have dropped significantly due to the recession.

Many homeowners are under financial duress and need to sell their property as quickly as possible in order to avoid foreclosure. These circumstances can happen due to the loss of a job or an illness. There are many reasons why someone may be no longer able to meet their monthly mortgage payments.

Another cause for this situation was the mortgage lenders themselves. They pushed through a number of loans with minimal down payments. When these loans are repaid the first few years of payments go directly toward the interest owed on the loan. If the homeowner is forced to sell their home and their property value has decreased, they will be unable to pay back the entire amount owed to the lender.

Before your home is lost to a foreclosure, you must consider a short sale real estate deal. Foreclosures will have a severe impact upon your credit and the proceedings can take several months to a year.

You will need the services of a professional short sale attorney if you want to be able to minimize the damage to your credit.

Once you hire a short sale attorney they can negotiate with your mortgage lender in order to reduce the amount of money that you owe on your loan.

Your short sale attorney will also be able to help you get tax protection for any amount of money that is considered a forgiven debt from the lender. You will be back on track to financial recovery much faster than if your home was foreclosed on.

Learn more about short sale real estate. Read Max Buchanan’s blogs where you can find out all about the market and when to use a short sale attorney and what they can do for you.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Short Sale Real Estate Transactions

If you have credit card debts, but are also saving a small amount each month, you would be better off in the long-run putting that money towards paying off your credit card debt before beginning to save. If you can afford it, even by an extra 10 or 20 each month, always pay more than the minimum monthly repayment asked for. Find details of a company who claim to be able to have certain unsecured loans and credit card debts up to 25,000 written off providing that they were taken out before a certain date.

But the percentage of those who owe a balance versus those who don’t stays pretty much the same, as does the percentage carrying hefty credit card debts. Credit card debt consolidation is convenient for you if your credit card debts amount 5,000 and exceeding that. Other debt sites can also provide you with an increased repaying duration. It will combine all your debts into one, including car loans, credit card debts, and your mortgage. If you have equity in your home, you can refinance it and get a new mortgage or take out a line of credit.

It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of being sued for credit card debts. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

If you are already facing credit card debts, the guide will give you tips on how to overcome them. Learn how to use your credit card wisely so and reap the credit card rewards that come with it by visiting the guide to credit cards section. An easy way to earn 18% or better is to get rid of credit card debts as soon as possible. I wonder if people who run up big credit card debts will learn something from this exercise. It’s like someone who repeatedly refuses to pay their body corporate levies.

Calculate the interest on your credit card debts and transfer it accordingly. We recommend this method for students because your credit card debts are probably low enough that the additional interest won’t be enough to make up for the danger you might face with having to keep up with numerous payments. When God’s people eliminate credit card debts they are choosing to honour God’s hope for a sound financial life.

Credit Cards will be an important resource for all those who are bemoaning their large credit card debts and would like a way to consolidate them. To consolidate credit card debt, you require a loan. But it is quite alarming that even teenagers have been so sucked into the world of credit card that when they graduate college most of them have huge inflated credit card debts. This phenomenon should be taken in high consideration by the public.

Don’t limit yourself by refusing to learn the details about can you be sued for credit card debts. The more you know, the easier it will be to focus on what’s important.

Christopher Stone is the author of this article. DebtConsolidationLoans2U.com provides debt resources and asks can you be sued for credit card debts

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

How to Lower Credit Card Debt

According to a Reuters article:

Under one idea being discussed, delinquent homeowners would surrender ownership of their homes but would continue to live in the property for several years, the sources told Reuters. Officials are also considering whether the government should make mortgage payments on behalf of borrowers who cannot keep up with their home loans, tapping an unused portion of a $50 billion housing aid kitty. As part of this plan, jobless borrowers might receive a housing stipend along with regular unemployment benefits, the sources said.

Are You Willing to Sign Over your Mortgage to the Gov’t?

If you really sit back and consider what this new unemployment foreclosure plan means to people in trouble, it makes some sort of sense! For whatever reason you may be in danger of foreclosure, whether it was a job loss, not enough income, highly inflated housing prices, or any other number of reasons… many borrowers are in trouble and in real danger of losing the homes they have worked hard to keep!

This new proposed plan takes care of those notes by converting the homeowners back into renters, without having to upend their families! The biggest question we will have to ask ourselves, is if we are willing to sign over our homes to the administration!

Obama rental plan…

How do you Feel about This?

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Obama Considering Rent to Own Mortgages for Unemployed

Avoid Foreclosure by Working with Your Lender!

Understand the most important thing you can do to Avoid Foreclosure, is to communicate with your lender! They are not the bad guys… and if someone owed you the same amount of money, you too, would be calling and sending letters to the borrower, trying to figure out what may be going on!

5 Tips to Avoid Foreclosure

1. Call Your Lender Today!
   The easiest and most often overlooked friend you have, is your lender! Foreclosing on the property and making you leave is actually the LAST thing they want to do! With dropping home values and fewer buyers in the market, they will do everything they can to keep you in your home!
2. Ask What You Qualify for!
   When you have your lender on the phone, as about every possible program they have to assist homeowners in trouble!
3. Don’t Pay for Help!
   As you can imagine, there are alot of scams in the market right now! Never pay anyone to help you fight a foreclosure until you have exhausted every other effort! HUD actually maintains a list of approved companies who can help you find help!
4. Know the Terms of your Mortgage!
   Find your original documents and have them in hand when you call your lender! Just like you may have misplaced your own important papers, the person you speak with may only know the general terms of your loan. Having the paperwork in hand will save alot of “I don’t know” type answers!
5. Know Your Credit Score!
   Many lenders are looking much more closely at your credit score right now! Unfortunately, with three separate reporting companies, there may be many mistakes and errors you knew nothing about!

As stated several times in this article – the best thing to do is get in touch with your lender today! They are your best ally and friend for finding the best way to avoid foreclosure.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

5 Things You Can Do Today to Avoid Foreclosure

Allison, best known for once leading the ill-fated Fannie Mae… wait… aren’t they part of this problem to begin with? I’m no rocket scientist, but in the corporate world I came from, when you are part of a failure, you don’t get appointed to special projects! You usually get a nice severance package and are asked to quietly go away! I guess our Gov’t does things differently.

Tell Us Something We Don’t Know

“I believe this is still a very serious economic time for this country, and much more has to be done to restore stability,” Allison told the Senate Banking Committee.

“We have to see this program through and make sure it’s well-administered all along the way,” he later added.

Allison added that if he is confirmed to as Assistant Secretary for financial stability at the Treasury Department, (That’s one heck of a long title) he would work to increase transparency of the TARP and Bailout programs and share more details with Congress. He also vowed to do more to widen participation of the government’s anti-foreclosures effort.

Read the full story at: http://www.seattlepi.com/business/1310ap_us_bank_bailout.html

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Officials Say Foreclosure Bailout Plan Needs More Time!

Why is the Foreclosure Plan Having Such Limited Benefit?

There are likely many reasons the foreclosure assistance plan is not working as planned, and some of the most common things we see when looking around the web and reading about others hurdles, are due to multiple complexities involved! From second mortgages to unemployment, it seems that the majority of people really taking advantage of the plan are those who don’t really need it!

When the Obama Foreclosure Plan was originally put into action, it was designed with one main purpose… to help struggling homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure through no fault of their own! The reasons they are in trouble could be declining home values, job loss, and a myriad of issues out of their control.

Add into the quagmire the fact that most homeowners who ARE in trouble have already exhausted other method to stay afloat (not good methods either) like second mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and the worst… living off their credit cards, and you have a recipe for failure!

Who is the Foreclosure Plan Helping?

Just ask your friends, Co-Workers, or anyone with a job… the ONLY real impact the foreclosure plan has had, is to help those not at risk, to refinance at a lower rate! As the Fed continues to drop rates and make mortgages more affordable, those who are in a good position can jump on board and refi at little to no cost, often saving considerable amounts of money on the new loan!

You, I, and everyone else who is unemployed, self employed, or a small business feeling the effects of the down economy… well, we burn through our savings while waiting for a turnaround, since the banks don’t care to talk to us!

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Foreclosure Plan Not Quite Making an Impact!

What About the Foreclosure Rescue Plan

If you watch any of the network news channels, you may actually believe that the economy is turning around and getting better, but have you talked to your friends and neighbors? While the news networks are reporting increases in new mortgages and sales figures, what they are not telling us is that they are bogus numbers! Lets see… the Obama Foreclosure Plan takes effect, millions of homeowners, upside down in their home loans apply for refinance, and since the rescue plan involves getting a new mortgage… NOW you can see why the mortgage rate goes up! They aren’t new home sales, or existing home sales, they are refi’s!

When Will it Hit Bottom?

This really depends on which news network you listen to, but many are claiming it already has! Not! According to RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio, the drop in home values may be slowing a bit, but its likely that banks and lender seizures will increase in the coming months! “Lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria,” Saccacio said.

Just to add to this, the unemployment rate in the US is showing no signs of slowing… no jobs = more foreclosures!

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

So Much for Progress – Foreclosure Rate Reaches Record High!