Neighborhood Housing Services Orange County

Foreclosure Intervention, by Peter S. Goodman

What do you all think?

“By PETER S. GOODMAN

Half a million troubled homeowners have seen their loan payments lowered under an Obama administration relief plan, the Treasury announced on Thursday, claiming a significant milestone in the effort to spare families from foreclosure.

Unaffordable mortgages are now being modified at a pace faster than homes are being sold in foreclosure proceedings, the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, said.

“That’s an important shift,” Mr. Geithner said in a telephone briefing with reporters. “Half a million families are participating in loan modifications that are substantially decreasing their housing costs.”
Mr. Geithner added that roughly 40 percent of the 1.2 million homeowners deemed eligible for loan modifications under the Making Home Affordable Program have received them.

Treasury portrayed the data as clear evidence that its program to prevent foreclosures has gained traction and is operating effectively after a discouraging beginning. The administration had previously set a goal of 500,000 modifications by the end of October, reaching that goal three weeks early.

But many homeowners continue to complain that seeking loan modifications can be frustrating and seemingly futile: Mortgage companies routinely lose documents and require them to resubmit their files repeatedly, while giving them incorrect fax numbers and leaving them on hold for hours only to receive contradictory instructions from customer service officers.

Some mortgage companies assert they cannot modify loans because they merely send out the monthly bills, while the mortgages are owned by investors. Yet industry insiders say many mortgage companies actually profit by delaying the process and keeping homeowners in long-term delinquency, extracting myriad fees along the way.

Even as it claimed a significant achievement, the administration acknowledged that much more needs to happen before its anti-foreclosure program may be considered a success.

“Unacceptably large numbers of families across the country are still at risk of losing homes they could otherwise afford to stay in,” Mr. Geithner said.

With the official unemployment rate at 9.8 percent in September and expected to reach double-digits, joblessness is now sending previously sound households into delinquency. What began as a foreclosure crisis stemming from subprime mortgages — those extended to homeowners with tainted credit — has broadened into a national event whose pain is now hitting borrowers with previously solid credit.

During the briefing, administration officials urged Congress to pass pending health care reform legislation, asserting that unexpected medical bills are a major reason many homeowners fall into delinquency on their mortgages.

Treasury first announced its anti-foreclosure program in February before delivering details in March: Mortgage companies would be paid $1,000 for each loan they modified, then $1,000 a year for up to three years. The plan was advanced with the promise that it would eventually spare up to four million households from foreclosure.

But by June, evidence was mounting that the program had become a bureaucratic nightmare. Thousands of homeowners recounted poor treatment and disorganization at the hands of their mortgage companies. By the end of June, only about 50,000 loans had been modified, according to a Treasury estimate.

In July, frustrated by the pace of the progress and irritated by legions of homeowner complaints, Treasury summoned major mortgage companies to Washington for what was subsequently described by officials as a dressing-down.

In the months since, mortgage companies have added and trained staff and improved their processes of fielding applications, according to the administration.

“We’ve put significant pressure on the servicers to ramp up production,” said the Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan, during Thursday morning’s briefing.

Still, the administration acknowledged that glitches and frustrations remain. Treasury and H.U.D. again summoned to mortgage industry officials to Washington for meetings this afternoon aimed at further accelerating the program, Mr. Donovan said.

“We are keeping that pressure on,” he said.

Neighbor Works America Foreclosure Scam Video

View Neighbor Works video about foreclosure scams – beware

Wells Fargo Supports NHS OC

Wells Fargo contributes $125,000 for housing revitalization effort in Anaheim Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County to expand its Home Again program

IRVINE, September 16, 2009 – Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County (NHS OC) will receive $125,000 and help from Wells Fargo volunteers as a winner of the company’s Priority Markets program, a nationwide Wells Fargo effort to help communities increase the local supply of affordable housing. NHS OC has helped more than 2,000 people find affordable places to live. Thanks to the contribution from Wells Fargo and pledged help from Wells Fargo volunteers, another 160 people will soon have a place to call home. The contribution to NHS OC is one of 19 grants totaling $1.6 million that Wells Fargo made in 17 markets in 2009.

“This support is in addition to the many ways that Wells Fargo contributes to the well-being of Orange County,” said Hector Retta, regional president for Wells Fargo in Orange County. “We’re excited about supporting NHS OC’s efforts to revitalize housing in distressed neighborhoods. In addition to our financial investment, our team members look forward to contributing their time and talents helping to rehabilitate properties in the program – making them clean, safe places for people to live.”

The contribution also will help the area qualify for additional federal money available through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which helps cities revitalize neighborhoods destabilized by excessive home foreclosures.

“Orange County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation and with the support of Wells Fargo, NHS OC will increase our ability to expand housing opportunities, promote sound financial management and encourage civic engagement,” Glenn Hayes, Executive Director of NHS OC said, “Wells Fargo’s continued partnership with NHS OC literally helps turn distressed neighborhoods into vibrant communities.”

Wells Fargo’s Priority Markets Program provides up to $250,000 to nonprofit organizations for large building or renovation projects in Empowerment Zones (EZones). EZones areas are targeted for economic revitalization to stimulate growth, stability and investment in distressed areas. EZones can be designated by federal or local government, the community or Wells Fargo.

Priority Markets Program contributions can be used for any costs associated with the development or redevelopment of the project except advertising and marketing. A maximum 20 percent of the grant can be used for homebuyer subsidies such as down payment/closing costs. Recipients must be IRS 501c3 organizations or government entities with successful histories of building or renovating housing for low-to moderate-income homebuyers.

The Wells Fargo Housing Foundation makes the contributions. More information about the foundation is posted on wellsfargo.com (enter “Housing Foundation” in the Search box).

Wells Fargo employs more than 4,400 team members in Orange County, serves customers from 131 financial services stores across the county and last year contributed nearly $3 million to Orange county non-profits. Wells Fargo was named a Top Workplace in Orange County by the Orange County Register’s Top Workplaces 2008, ranking 3^rd among large companies. Wells Fargo was awarded the first annual Corporate Cultural Diversity Award by St. Anselm’s Cross Cultural Community Center in Grove and was named 2008 Spirit of Philanthropy Outstanding Business by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Orange County Chapter and the Orange County Register in celebration of National Philanthropy Day.

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 10,000 stores and 12,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally.

Foreclosure Prevention

NHS OC’s home ownership preservation program promotes foreclosure prevention through educational workshops, face-to-face counseling and community outreach. This three-pronged approach ensures that NHS OC reaches out to as many distress borrowers are possible while providing individual, customized counseling.

Forclosure Prevention Workshops are 2-3 hour classes held twice a month that will provide an overview of all options related to delinquency and loss mitigation and emphasizes how delinquent borrowers can prevent the loss of their home by receiving housing counseling and taking action. The class covers what to do when mortgage payments become difficult, how to assess current finance alternatives to delinquent borrowers and how to avoid becoming a victim of predatory lenders and home equity fraud. The instructor will discuss methods of bringing a loan current using several loss mitigation tools provided by HUD and the secondary market, such as reducing the monthly payment, negotiating a repayment plan, establishing a temporary deferment, modifing loan terms or refinancing before an interest rate reset.

Foreclosure Prevention Help