Exclusive Homes Atlanta Magazine by New Hope Publishing

Real-Estate

More Than one Way To Skin a CaT Get Your Mortgage Modified

Article by Michelle Bible

o you feel like you have been spinning your wheels? Have you been working with your lender for months with no solid resolution in sight? Between the lack of communication and loss paperwork, modifying your mortgage can be very stressful. Do you feel like your lender is just not cooperating with you? Do you fear that you will lose your home? You are not alone. Many of your follow Georgians are feeling the pinch of the mortgage crisis. Georgia is one of the states leading the nation in bankruptcy and foreclosure rates. For three consecutive months Georgia has had the seventh highest foreclosure rate in the country, according to RealtyTrac’s July 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. Lenders’ reluctance to modify mortgages, falling real estate values, the steady rise in unemployment, and unfair foreclosure laws are all contributing factors to Georgia’s record breaking foreclosure rates. But, Be that as it may, there is more than one way to skin a cat! The government has implemented a program called Home Made Affordable to address this crisis. The Obama administration initiated the Home Made Affordable program in March of 2009. It will allow homeowners to modify the terms of their loan, and hopefully lower their monthly mortgage payments. Thirtyeight companies are participating in the government program. However, lenders are not required to participate. They are only encouraged. If your lender is not participating or if your lender is not cooperating with you, there are alternative paths to gain access into the program. In addition to the various government agencies, there are several non-profit organizations enrolling

Exclusive Homes Atlanta Magazine

distressed homeowners into Home Made Affordable. Bruce Dorpalen, director of housing counseling at AcORn Housing corporation, a national, nonprofit housing counseling agency, announced that his agency has enrolled over 500 homeowners in the Obama plan. The neighborhood Assistance corporation of America (nAcA) has embarked on a national tour called “Save The Dream.” This tour has been developed to help homeowners restructure their home loans with their lender. nAcA has helped thousands of homeowners prevent foreclosure. Freddie Mac has announced that they will be hosting workshops and events to address the foreclosure crisis. However, these initiatives have been somewhat circumvented by the mortgage industry’s hesitancy to stave off foreclosures. Among 2.7 million eligible borrowers, banks have only extended modification offers to 243,000 borrowers. Some economists have concluded that in many cases the lender has more financial incentive to let a borrower lose their home than to work out a settlement. The first monthly progress report released August 4, 2009 advised that lenders had only modified 9 percent of eligible borrowers’ mortgages. This report also showed that 10 lenders chose not to modify a single mortgage. Michael Barr, the U.S. Treasury Department’s assistant secretary, said “We expect them to do more. We think they could have ramped up better, faster, more consistently, and done a better job serving borrowers, and bringing stabilization to the broader mortgage markets and economy.” The Obama administration was 404-629-0446

disappointed with the report findings that lenders were not modifying mortgages at a moderate rate. They were especially disappointed with Bank of America and Wells Fargo since they received billions in federal bailout money. Since the release of these reports, the government has extracted a verbal promise from the mortgage industry to modify 500,000 borrowers by november 1st. That is the light at the end of the tunnel. So, skin that cat! Get your mortGaGe modified! The assistance is out there, but you have to find it. Talking with a HUD counselor is a great starting point to uncovering your options to prevent foreclosure. call one of the agencies below today! Assistance Available by Loan Type

Phone Numbers

For a VA-insured loan

(800) 729-5772

For conventional Loans

(800) 569-4287

For an FHA-insured loan

(888) 297-8685

HUD Foreclosure Avoidance Counseling

Phone Numbers

cOOPERATIVE RESOURcE cEnTER, Inc

(404) 521-0406

nAcA (nEIGHBORHOOD ASSISTAncE cORPORATIOn OF AMERIcA)

(888) 297-5568

ATLAnTA URBAn LEAGUE, Inc.

(404) 659-1150

FULTOn ATLAnTA cOMMUnITY AcTIOn AUTHORITY

(404) 696-3494

cccS OF GREATER ATLAnTA – MAIn OFFIcE

(800) 251-2227

Hope

(888) 995-4673

Foreclosure Prevention Workshops

Date

nAcA

9/19/2009

Resources for Residents & communities

9/26/2009

Resources for Residents & communities

10/6/2009

Resources for Residents & communities

10/24/2009

HOPE nOW Alliance

10/29/2009

Michelle Bible is an aspiring author and spoken word artist. Contact her at michellebible13@gmail.com or view her latest blog entry at http://michellebible13.blogspot.com.