The Hope Now Alliance, a cooperative effort between counselors, investors and lenders to help homeowners who may not be able to pay their mortgages, reports that about 67,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications from its member servicers in August – an 8% increase over July.
This total includes modifications completed under both proprietary programs and the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). In addition, the program helped distressed homeowners complete more than 23,000 short sales in August.
So far this year, the program has helped approximately 580,000 homeowners obtain mortgage modifications. This compares to approximately 438,000 foreclosure sales reported for the year to date.
In total, the program has helped more than 8 million homeowners since it was launched in 2007. Of those, about 5.4 million have received proprietary loan modifications, 1.25 million have received HAMP modifications and 1.36 million have completed short sales. (Note: HAMP and short sales reporting began in 2009.)
Of the 67,000 homeowners who received assistance, an estimated 48,000 received proprietary loan modifications, and 19,069 received HAMP modifications (as reported by U.S. Department of Treasury).
There were approximately 59,000 foreclosure sales completed in August – about the same number completed in July. There were approximately 101,000 foreclosure starts, compared with 102,000 in July.
Delinquencies of 60 days or more reached 2.18 million for the month of August, compared to 2.24 million in July – a decrease of about 2.5%.
Proprietary loan modifications that included fixed interest rates of five years or more accounted for 88% (42,000) of the total.
Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest monthly payments accounted for 82% (40,000) of the total.
Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments of more than 10% accounted for 71% (34,000) of the total.
‘HOPE NOW is pleased to report that since 2007, more than 8 million permanent, non-foreclosure solutions have been completed by our members, on behalf of homeowners across the country,’ says Eric Selk, executive director of HOPE NOW, in a statement. ‘The efforts of mortgage servicers, nonprofit housing counselors, and federal and state agencies have produced tangible results.’
‘HOPE NOW continues to work with all stakeholders on outreach initiatives and borrower education,’ Selk adds. ‘Homeowners attending our events and reaching out to their mortgage companies are now realizing more options than ever before, whether they are seeking a loan modification, a short-term solution like forbearance or even a graceful exit from the home via short sale. The bottom line is that there are more tools for consumers than ever before to handle mortgage challenges.’
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