Obama's Foreclosure Plan

Recent changes to the federal foreclosure-prevention program were billed as helping the unemployed, but in the long run, they actually make it harder for people without jobs to keep their homes.

When the new rules go into effect, unemployment benefits will no longer count as income for determining whether a person qualifies for a long-term reduction in their mortgage payments.

So for people with no income other than unemployment, there will be no loan modifications – the chief tool for preventing foreclosures.

“It’s ridiculous how impractical the guidelines … are,” said Al Ripley, an attorney with the N.C. Justice Center. “They truly do not address the needs of unemployed people.”

This program is the centerpiece of the $75billion federal effort launched in February 2009 to stem foreclosures. President Barack Obama has said HAMP – the Home Affordable Modification Program – would help 3million to 4million people avoid foreclosure through 2012.

But only about 170,000 homeowners received long-term modifications in the first year. The small numbers drive criticism that the U.S. Treasury program is flawed, and that lenders do a poor job of implementing it.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/11/1369820/foreclosure-program-falls-short.html#ixzz0kr3caTLS