|
|
| Among foreclosure prevention plans on the table are a local foreclosure assistance center in one Florida city, a special Michigan refinancing program and an additional 60 days for delinquent conforming borrowers to work with servicers to find alternatives to foreclosure. One group is calling on Congress to focus more on mortgage market liquidity and less on the oversupply of properties.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm today signed bills aimed at helping Michigan borrowers avoid foreclosure. In her weekly radio address last week, Granholm told of plans for “Save the Dream,” an initiative to preserve homeownership for delinquent borrowers, the governor’s Web site said. Two programs previously proposed by the governor include a fixed-rate loan refinance for adjustable-rate borrowers and a refinance for borrowers who have missed one or more payments. Both are administered through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. West Palm Beach announced Monday that it will offer something no other city in the nation has. The Florida city has added a new Foreclosure Assistance Center that will attempt to assist in setting up special arrangements and will remain “focused on immediate solutions for homeowners” faced with the possibility of losing their homes, the city’s Web site said. ForeclosureMass.com released its March 2008 Market Analysis Report last week, revealing that 2007 was the worst year for borrowers in Massachusetts, and predictions for this year look even worse. In fact, a press release said the company expects the foreclosure filings for 2008 to surpass last year’s levels by as much as 25 percent. You Walk Away LLC, a San Diego-based company, advises borrowers “to take control of their financial futures” by escaping mortgage debt, its Web site said. By purchasing a Walk Away Protection Plan & Kit for $995, borrowers are given access to experienced professionals in both the real estate and law industries to aid them in making any selling and foreclosure decisions. Foreclosure “expert” L. J. Sutherland’s eBook, Don’t Take My Home Away … A Foreclosure Survival Guide, which gives advice on how to escape foreclosure and get into a new home, is scheduled for release today. The author claims borrowers who were foreclosed on can still buy a home through solutions including lease options, seller financing and mortgage assumption. Fannie Mae announced last week the extension of the forbearance terms for mortgage loans in mortgage-backed security pools to six months from the previous maximum of four months. Forbearance cannot extend beyond the last scheduled payment date of the loan. The National Multi Housing Council said in a news release last month that home buyer tax credits will not solve the foreclosure dilemma many borrowers currently face, and the council calls for a “more balanced housing policy.” “The real problem in the housing market is not the oversupply problem, which the home buyer tax credit targets, but the liquidity problem,” National Multi Housing Council Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jim Arbury said in the statement. “If Congress wants to address the problems in the housing sector, we would encourage them to start with measures targeting the mortgage market instead of the sales market.“ |
|
next story
back to current headlines
