In December, we were reading a lot about banks and mortgage lenders not doing enough or doing anything fast enough to help homeowners and potential homeowners with their mortgage issues. Now that we’re in the middle of January 2010, we’re hearing that some of these lenders have finally stepped up to the plate and started lending again. Some are even touting some of their successes in 2009.
Wells Fargo recently came out and announced that they had actually modified 500,000 mortgages in 2009. They also said that around 119,000 of those customers were related to the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HARP).
Citigroup announced that they had 108,000 active loan modification applicants live in December 2009, their highest rate of the year. Of course, that figure is going against the fact that it had been reported that through October they had only made 271 of those modifications permanent, but Citigroup also announced that the current figure is around 5,000. That’s still pretty bad, but at least they started moving in the right direction, even though they’re going to be reducing the mortgage division of their organization in the first quarter of 2010.
Even GMAC Mortgage, which has been under financial duress, showed improvement in the latter part of 2009. Through November, GMAC had made around 7,100 mortgage modifications permanent, but in December that number increased to 9,872, which means they were way above the average in that month. GMAC stated that, “44% of their customers who requested assistance were helped in obtaining a home loan modification.”
It is good that some banks have finally stepped forward and are beginning to do what they were supposed to be doing for the past year. However, this may or may not be a good thing for most consumers. For one, there are still an overwhelming number of people who only got temporary assistance not permanent assistance. Almost everybody who participated in the program took a hit on their credit scores with most having no clue there credit score would even be affected. Another fear is that some government programs are ending soon, such as the $8,000 tax credit. There are still a lot of people out there who have no idea what their status is and need help however, we look for the positive where we can find it. Anything that helps both new and existing homeowners through these tough and financially difficult times is a good thing.
If you need help or are a first time home buyer and are looking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it expires here is a list of Real Estate Professionals from around the country who can get you started.
- San Diego Real Estate
- Denver Real Estate
- Logan Real Estate
- Austin Real Estate
- Augusta Real Estate
- Las Vegas Real Estate
- Tampa Bay Real Estate
- Charleston Real Estate
Mitch Mitchell is a consultant who writes and participates in many different fields, including real estate finance issues. 
This is encouraging news. Like I’ve said before, this housing mess we are in will never fully recover until the foreclosures slow to a normal pace and the jobs come back. Hopefully both happen soon.
.-= Matt@Atlanta GA Real Estate´s last blog ..Details on New Tax Credit Extension =-.
We’ve got good news here. It is good to read articles like this and it is very informative. We should prepare for new trends and wait for foreclosure property to settle down in numbers. Government laws will help somehow in the development of real estate business as the number of home buyers will increase this year. I really like this good source of news post! Keep it up!
.-= Realhomesestate´s last blog ..California Home Sales increased by 16.7% =-.
In the UK we’re still having problems – people are having a really hard time getting a mortgage and it’s making it almost impossible for people to get on the ladder.
.-= Jim@Garage Doors Prices´s last blog ..Garage Door Safety =-.
Thanks for the referral. Our tax post on the First Time Home Buyer tax credit is nearing 2k comments. It seems a lot of people are curious as to when they will actually get it. Hopefully this year the IRS will have the issue worked out.
.-= Chas@Las Vegas Real Estate´s last blog ..Real Estate Update =-.
Finally there is a little light at the end of the tunnel…Yeah, not really yet but some banks getting the idea that they need to change something. Something for the better I hope.
.-= Nicky@Stop Foreclosure Tampa´s last blog ..Dyson DC30 Handheld Vacuum Cleaner =-.
The problem with Modification is a nasty little word called “forberence”. This means that for example in 140,000.00 modification 70.000 is set aside in a baloon note that is due in full in 40 years from the first day of modification. The buyer now makes monthly payment on the remaining 70 grand at 2% to begin with that slowly creeps up to 5% over 5 to 10 years. At the end of the modified payments you now have a balloon of 70 grand to pay in full and your bank does not have to finance it for you. So instead of foreclosure today you will foreclose in 40 years. For me at 52 I would be forced to refinance the balloon at age 92 or my house goes back to the bank and all the money I put into the home is just lost to any heirs. Simply is putting the problem down the road for another generation to handle. If the banks were forced to just write down the loans with Tarp monies then the modifications would solve the problem forever with very few foreclosures at all. Currently there is no incentive to not miss payments when you know you will never truly own your house. Makes no sense.