On January 27^th, 2011 the federal government announced changes to the program by extending the program’s time table, easing the guidelines for qualifying, offering additional incentives for principal reductions, and welcoming non-owner occupying borrowers to apply!

1. The program has now been extended to 12/31/2013; previously due to expire 12/31/2012.
2. Currently there is a 31% threshold to qualify for a HAMP modification.  This means that the homeowner must have  greater than 31% of their gross monthly income dedicated to the first mortgage payment on their home to be eligible. Currently second mortgage payments and other monthly debts are not factored into the analysis.  Indicated changes are that all debts will be considered in the qualifying for a modification.
3. The government will be offering additional incentives to lenders to make principal reductions, which is currently a practice that they are not inclined to engage in.
4. Homeowners who do not occupy their homes will now be eligible to apply for a HAMP modification.

These changes in the program will be detailed in a February 2012 announcement and will start to be implemented in May, 2012.  It is still beneficial for a distressed homeowner to start their application today because the timeframe for processing a modification can be extended and therefore a homeowner may be able to be considered under the current guidelines as well as the new.

Will the changes help to reach more homeowners?

1. Extending the program’s time frame certainly will allow many more homeowners to take advantage of the program.
2. Qualifying debt to incomes considering total monthly obligations will certainly help homeowners with higher monthly obligations, but it is unclear how it will affect those who have modest debt above and beyond their 1^st mortgage payment.
3. Additional incentives for principal reductions is certainly a big step,  but it is uncertain if the greater incentives will be enough to prompt lenders to employ this option.

Offering the program to homeowners not occupying their property could very well improve overall housing values by reducing the number of vacant homes which currently bring down market values of entire neighborhoods and offer more affordable rentals for the ever increasing number of tenants seeking housing.

The massive deluge of foreclosures that has swept over the United States since the early days of the global financial crisis has caused significant damage to the American economy. Statistics show that millions of homeowners have lost their properties to foreclosures since 2007, and the rate of foreclosures proceedings filed by mortgage lenders seems to continue unabated. One in every 111 households in the United States were subject foreclosure during the first half of 2011.

Foreclosure is a judicial process in most states. This means that a lender that wishes to foreclose on a property must do so through the court system. In states where judicial foreclosures are available, such as Ohio and South Carolina, homeowners have the right to retain an attorney to defend themselves against foreclosure.

Retaining a foreclosure defense attorney in Cleveland, OH is essential for everyone who has interest in the property that a bank is seeking to foreclose on. Homeowners, borrowers, co-borrowers, and real estate investors often find themselves at a great disadvantage when they are served with a Lis Pendens notice by a bank. Banks that seek to foreclose on a property in Ohio and South Carolina must first file a Lis Pendens notice that clearly states their intentions as claimants. These notices have to be accurate in listing and enumerating the defendants (homeowners, borrowers, investors and others) that may have an interest in the property.

Once a Lis Pendens has been served, the homeowner has a certain amount of time (typically 3 months) to respond to the bank and remedy the situation. An efficient foreclosure defense starts at this point. The bank has made its intentions clear; now it is up to the homeowners to adopt a strategy to protect themselves and safeguard their property from the bank's clutches. A foreclosure defense attorney can gather and review the facts surrounding the case starting with the Lis Pendens notice. Since this is a judicial procedure, the bank's filings must be 100 percent accurate and free of any errors and omissions.

The foreclosure process in Cleveland, OH can be a lengthy and complex affair for all parties involved. In Ohio, the timeline of a foreclosure proceeding starting from the initial complaint until a judge enters a ruling is approximately six months. In South Carolina the timeline varies. In both states the length of the process may be extended due to various circumstances. Some major banks have been accused of resorting to dubious practices in order to streamline the foreclosure process and cut corners. Bank of America, for example, was notorious for its egregious "robo-signing" pattern of activity. Robo-signing is the highly unethical automated generation of mortgage documents without the review of an attorney or even a notary to witness the signing.

Foreclosure defense attorneys can not only protect homeowners against shady practices such as robo-signing, but also ensure that their clients are afforded every legal protection they are entitled to during the difficult foreclosure process.

The massive deluge of foreclosures that has swept over the United States since the early days of the global financial crisis has caused significant damage to the American economy. Statistics show that millions of homeowners have lost their properties to foreclosures since 2007, and the rate of foreclosures proceedings filed by mortgage lenders seems to continue unabated. One in every 111 households in the United States were subject foreclosure during the first half of 2011.

Foreclosure is a judicial process in most states. This means that a lender that wishes to foreclose on a property must do so through the court system. In states where judicial foreclosures are available, such as Ohio and South Carolina, homeowners have the right to retain an attorney to defend themselves against foreclosure.

Retaining a foreclosure defense attorney in Charleston, SC is essential for everyone who has interest in the property that a bank is seeking to foreclose on. Homeowners, borrowers, co-borrowers, and real estate investors often find themselves at a great disadvantage when they are served with a Lis Pendens notice by a bank. Banks that seek to foreclose on a property in Ohio and South Carolina must first file a Lis Pendens notice that clearly states their intentions as claimants. These notices have to be accurate in listing and enumerating the defendants (homeowners, borrowers, investors and others) that may have an interest in the property.

Once a Lis Pendens has been served, the homeowner has a certain amount of time (typically 3 months) to respond to the bank and remedy the situation. An efficient foreclosure defense starts at this point. The bank has made its intentions clear; now it is up to the homeowners to adopt a strategy to protect themselves and safeguard their property from the bank's clutches. A foreclosure defense attorney can gather and review the facts surrounding the case starting with the Lis Pendens notice. Since this is a judicial procedure, the bank's filings must be 100 percent accurate and free of any errors and omissions.

The foreclosure process in Charleston, SC can be a lengthy and complex affair for all parties involved. In Ohio, the timeline of a foreclosure proceeding starting from the initial complaint until a judge enters a ruling is approximately six months. In South Carolina the timeline varies. In both states the length of the process may be extended due to various circumstances. Some major banks have been accused of resorting to dubious practices in order to streamline the foreclosure process and cut corners. Bank of America, for example, was notorious for its egregious "robo-signing" pattern of activity. Robo-signing is the highly unethical automated generation of mortgage documents without the review of an attorney or even a notary to witness the signing.

Foreclosure defense attorneys can not only protect homeowners against shady practices such as robo-signing, but also ensure that their clients are afforded every legal protection they are entitled to during the difficult foreclosure process.

Foreclosures, declining property values, persistent high unemployment rates, backlogged courts, and scrutiny from state and federal regulators concerning the proprietary of lenders foreclosure paperwork suggests that there is no immediate end in sight to the foreclosure crisis. Read More.

How Foreclosure Attorneys Make A Difference

Every three months 250,000 homes are foreclosed, according to the Mortgage Banker's Association. It is common for homeowners to experience mixed feelings of anger, fear, sadness, and even embarrassment when faced with losing their home. Often times...Read More.

Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) last week introduced a bill aiming to help prevent foreclosures across the country.

After the House passed measures to terminate federal foreclosure prevention programs, Cohen stepped in with a new measure to provide federal funding for foreclosure mediation programs.

Cohen’s office said the legislation passed by the House “harms homeowners.”

His bill would establish a grant program for state and local governments to provide mediation between home-

owners and lenders in order to pursue alternatives to foreclosure.

“Foreclosures evaporate middle class wealth,” said Congressman Cohen. “My bill would help families keep their homes and avoid the stress and difficulties of foreclosure.”

The Preventing Homeowners from Foreclosure Act of 2011 would create a grant program to help communities establish their own foreclosure mediation programs.

The mediation would postpone sheriff sales of owner-occupied residences until the homeowner has an opportunity to meet with a housing counselor and explore viable options to avert foreclosure.

Homeowners and lenders would have an opportunity to meet face-to-face before any foreclosure proceeded.

The program would also establish an outreach program to help raise homeowner awareness about the program. The bill would require any state that receives help from the grant program to keep a record of each mediation carried out, including the nature of any loan modification.

Cohen’s bill has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee for consideration.

The cases date back to 2007 when the banks began foreclosure proceedings against delinquent borrowers on two different properties. The problem was that the banks had not yet been assigned the mortgages before they were foreclosed as is requires. Foreclosures are only to occur when the lenders can prove they own the note underlying the property. As lenders and Wall Street firms bundled thousands of mortgage loans into securities, banks often failed to record each link in the chain of documents demonstrating ownership of a note on the property.

Attorneys general in all fifty states are investigating foreclosure improprieties, which include among other dubious practices the use of forged signatures. One of the property owners currently lives in a rental condo. The end result is that the bank will either have to pay the owner to buy the deed back or in the alternative walk away from the property. The court also ruled that foreclosure cases already completed could be reopened and brought under scrutiny. This is one of a series of cases that are being litigated in the courts which are consumer friendly.