Mortgage Program Saves Homes, Push To Replicate It Nationally

Reuters:

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) A program to avert residential mortgage foreclosures has saved almost 60 percent of its participants from losing their homes in a sheriff's sale, officials said on Tuesday.

Philadelphia's Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Pilot Program, seen as a national model to stem the foreclosure crisis, resulted in 2,776 properties permanently or temporarily saved from sale between its inception in June 2008 and May 31 this year out of 4,690 that were referred to the program, according to new data.

Read the whole story: Reuters

Comments

[bayside]

This is what they did during the last depression..They paid what they could or were given credit and when it was over it all worked out for everybody.­.Good.....­......

[TJCole]

300-400,000 per month are losing their homes and the vast majority of these could be saved...!

Just Reset to the current true value of the home and give them a fair fixed rate of between 5-6% and these people many of them could do it...!

They're trying to pay 11-14% even higher on a house not even worth 2/3rds that value today..!

It's a National Disgrace..!

[Iraqnophobia]

why just reset to current value, just give them the home free and clear then they really could do it! gimme gimme gimme, I need some more, gimme gimme gimme dont ask what for...

[talkpeople]

the housing market market is crumbling before our eyes and our government has no intentions of helping the people out. They are there for the sole purpose of promoting big business. If you can't afford to contribute at least a million big ones to them, then your opinon and concerns are not counted. Who do you think funded their campains big business.
They all talk out of their ***es.
I have lost my faith in our government system and the representative. Doesn't matter what they say - bottom line no change. bail out corporations so they can get back on their feet and rape and pillage the little people. Take til they bleed and keep taking til they are bleed dry.

[rogerthat21]

We need to stop the corruption by Goldman, bank of Amerika, and Jp Morgan. Stop the Geithner and bernanke. .

Obama's policies may not be working as well as many had hoped:
1st 100 days - There are 2.9 million more people unemployed in May than there were unemployed in January. The unemployment rate went from 7.6% to 9.4%. Since May 2008, we have lost 5.5 million jobs. The biggest losers were:

Manufacturing 1.5 million lost
Finance & Prof Serv 1.5 million lost
Construction 1.1 million lost
Retail & Leisure 1.3 million lost

good political & economic articles: http://iamned.blogspot.com

[Artos]

As I have said before this situation arises to the level of a national disaster magnitude and should be dealt with in like manner. Instead of all this negotiation which may or may bot end up in someone keeping their home, they ought to just pass a bill stating that all ARM loans shall immediately revert to a Fixed loan henceforth and that the loan shall be fixed at the rate of 5 to 5 and a half percent. All mortgage owed in arrears shall be readjusted to the lower percentage as of the date when the first loan adjustment was made if it was higher than 5.5 percent. In this way much of the arrears will disappear automatically. Any above that amount will be stretched out so that an adequate payment can be made. While many investors will complain so what, they will still be getting money, just not the huge amount they were expecting earlier. Everyone has to make a sacrifice to save the nation. This will be theirs. In addition it will be a good lesson in limiting their own greed.

[DuganS1]

Passing such a law would break the sanctity of contracts, plus it isn't fair to people who did buy a house within their means or didn't buy one at all because they knew it was too expensive. I still believe the best solution is foreclosure and debt liquidation.

[MED1025]

The hoursing market in the Philly area never got overheated. Most of the people in the program are there because they lost a job. They would have been able to pay their mortgage if they had stayed gainfully employed.

[Artos]

The question I have for you, is are you a Republican? I have found it very interesting how Republicans react to other peoples disasters. There is a profund lack of sympathy, and yet Republicans portray themselves as So religious and so in favor of life. Yet the fact seems to be that they only care that someone lives, but not how they live. If they can't make it too bad. It's as though Republicans thrive on chaos or other peoples sufferings. I can see how their would be many many ways to profit from that, but would it be a worthy thing for one American to wish on his fellow Americans that they have to suffer that you might profit big time.

[PhilipTaylor]

Its Been 9 Months since Obama went to Washington to save people from Foreclosure and still NOTHING!

[boboyaya]

Your analysis is as worthless as your ability to count. Jan 20 -Jun 20 is 5 months.

[clutchkill]

Back under your bush bridge tollie.

[boboyaya]

the 'helping families save their home act was signed May 20th'.

[rogerthat21]

Take back the trillions of $$$ given to the banks, who just sit on it and make it totally ineffective then start government incentive to create realistic industries that give employment and generate real productive income, some of which would hopefully be from exports.

Every other country, especially China and most of Europe have goverment incentives to protect it's industries. No matter what you call it it's a form of protectionism and its inevitable. We should stop being naive and take care of our own house. The only ones who win if we don't are the multinational corporations who don't care where they get their hand out.gg

good articles for a slow news day: http://heavysidetrade.blogspot.com/

[rogerthat21]

Take back the trillions of $$$ given to the banks, who just sit on it and make it totally ineffective then start government incentive to create realistic industries that give employment and generate real productive income, some of which would hopefully be from exports.

Every other country, especially China and most of Europe have goverment incentives to protect it's industries. No matter what you call it it's a form of protectionism and its inevitable. We should stop being naive and take care of our own house. The only ones who win if we don't are the multinational corporations who don't care where they get their hand out.

good articles for a slow news day: http://heavysidetrade.blogspot.com/

[PhilipTaylor]

Its Been 9 Months since Obama went to Washington to save people from Foreclosure and still NOTHING!

All the speeches and NO ACTION except for WALL STREET CR00KS!

Americans have NO REPRESENTATION in Government other than 5 Congress Members out of 538!

[iblogleft]

9 months eh?

[tailgateshirts]

apparently Philip ascribes to the Newt and Palin view of the world

[clutchkill]

He's a sharp one aint he?

[TJCole]

Philip; you like me are a man of the people, it's sad so many don't get what it is to be American and one of the people...an egalitarian but those who create this country thought very much like you and I and others Carolab do others...

It's not about Obama it's about us the American people and the General Prosperity we don't live vicariously well through our rich bankers we lived well by our toil and a level playing field which is disappeari­ng...almos­t gone...

Our people need housing and health care and food that's the purpose of government to serve the people..!

Not the Bankers..!

[Peter007]

It sounds like a good program that works well in a small area like a city.
The problem with loan modifications is that its usually not the bank that owns the loan. The loan usually has been sold to a number of investors, some of which have no interest in modifying the terms because they don't lose if the house goes into foreclosure. The banks usually are only servicing agents with no decission making authority.
A point in the story is that there is a 47 year old women who gets a city pension of $2,000/ month and can't pay a $900 mortgage payment.
Did she every hear of working for a living? Even part time at a low wage would let her keep her house.

[MED1025]

The program is mandatory. It doesn't matter what the investors want to do. They have to negotiate.

[BabblingBrooks]

Well, is this going to be the sort of nebulous "created or saved" statistic with jobs? "Permanently or temporarily..." I think we will require longer-term eval to see how many are actually permanent and whether the loss to the banks (less money than was agreed upon in the original loan) damages the banks or helps them.

This claim that "everybody wins" seems to be premature.

[MED1025]

Its been going for a year and one of the worst years in a long time.

[LeLoup]

"From the lender's point of view, it makes a lot more sense to work something out,"

Which begs the question: Why aren't more lenders act in their self-interest and do likewise outside Philadelphia?

[BabblingBrooks]

Maybe because it ISN'T in their self-interest? Perhaps this is just political propaganda...

[DuganS1]

This program just prolongs the problem. We need to get folks out of houses they can't afford so folks who can afford them can move in. By keeping folks in these houses, it will just push off the problem for six months to a few years down the road, plus it will keep these folks overwhelmed with debt, to the point they can't purchase the goods and service which allows our economy to grow. We can't remain a debt strapped society. We need to liquidate as much debt as possible and move on. Only then will we get a true economic recovery, otherwise we're just 1990s Japan.

[JoeBlough]

I agree with you. So why can't our "best and brightest" politicians figure it out?

[vagabondvet]

The politicians are too busy pointing fingers at the "free" market rather than their own policies which created this mess in the first place.

[Artos]

If What your are saying is true about getting people out of these houses because as you put it , they can't afford them anyway, then I gather that you are in favor of just allowing the foreclosures to happen? That appears to be the only way to make it happen. So who gets to have these houses? People who flip houses, the Wealthy, investors, who? You do realize that there is a glut of empty houses right now and in some states, even though they have high unemployment these houses will sit empty like ghost towns for quite some time. What happens to the people who get thrown out? Where are they going to go? You do know that desperate people will resort to crime more often than not since that is the only way they can survive. Who is going to pay to police, incarcerate or try to help these people, You? The way you and some of these others talk you sound just like Republicans. Republicans, the greedy no goods who in their fantasy "Free" Market, are free to lie to, deceive, scam or otherwise cheat in order to get rich. Your kind sucked in these people and now that they can't keep their heads above water you want to screw them even further. You should be proud, You are truly an American Patriot of the highest order. Too Bad Bush is still not in office because I'm sure you would deserve a Freedom Medal.

[factotem]

Hey that's great ...only two years too late.
But they're gonna think, about considering, maybe doing something aobut it real soon.

[fifty8]

Prime Loan Math in Dollars
Moreover note that 67% of loans are "Prime Loans". Prime mortgages 60 days or more past due climbed to 2.9 percent of such loans through March 31 from 1.1 percent at the same point in 2008 according to the report. Total Servicing is $6 Trillion. $4 Trillion of that is "prime". 2.9% of that is 60 days late or worse. 2.9% of $4 Trillion is $116 billion. And that ignores the problem in Alt-A and Pay Option ARMs.

Prime Loan Math in Units
There are 22.8 million prime loans. 2.9% of that is 661,200. That's a lot of potential housing supply.

Jobs Are The Key
Unless the job market quickly improves, expect those numbers to soar. Here's a hint: the job market is unlikely to significantly recover for years.
This was a very damning report on the state of housing.

http://www.marketoracle.net/Article11706.html