- Author: George Haines
- Published
About 5 months in, the Making Homes Affordable Program does not seem to be achieving its goal of making homes terribly affordable, according to a Washington Post article (“Banks Slow to Modify Mortgages: Most Facing Foreclosure Not Getting Help Says Treasury“).
Then again, if you’re reading this post, you probably already knew that.
Granted, it’s only been 5 months and it is a very complicated problem, so it’s hard to expect an instant, large-scale solution. And one of the “positives” of the failure of the program could potentially be that Congress decides to try again to pass a mortgage cramdown law which would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage amounts for debtors who file for bankruptcy.
That said, if you’re facing foreclosure in Las Vegas or anywhere else, then you may not have time to sit around and wait for Congress to finally do something to really help homeowners.
The article notes that both JP Morgan Chase and Saxon Mortgage Services (owned by Morgan Stanley) are doing relatively well, claiming to have modified 20% and 25% of loans for their clients.
However, other banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo aren’t getting any gold stars. In one of the mosre discouraging parts of the article, a homeowner–who requested a loan modification after her family incurred significant medical bills at the same time her husband’s work hours were cut–received a letter from Bank of America saying, “Servicer participation in this program is voluntary” and that the bank “is not actively participating in this program.” After being contacted by the Washington Post, Bank of America said the letter was a mistake and the homeowner should have qualified under the Making Homes Affordable Program.
Sure it was a mistake. And if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you (financed by a subprime loan with an adjustable rate mortgage).
Once again this all goes to show how important it is that the Nevada legislature passed the Nevada foreclosure mediation program. As you look around the U.S. and at what homeowners face in other states, it’s clear that Las Vegas residents facing foreclosure have the strongest option available for homeowners facing foreclosure under the circumstances.
If you want to help stop foreclosure Las Vegas, the best step you can take is to make an appointment with a Freedom Law Firm bankruptcy attorney in Las Vegas for a free initial foreclosure consultation. Finding a good bankruptcy attorney with an established reputation is the safest and most secure approach to getting foreclosure and bankruptcy help Las Vegas.
