Home Affordable Modification Report Card Results

September 11, 2009 · Posted in News For Homebuyers

Today, the Making Home Affordable Modifications report card for the month of August was released by the Treasury Department.

The report shows that loan servicers have extended offers for 571,354 trial modifications, and 360,165 homeowners have begun the process of modification. In July, mortgage servicers committed to modify more than half a million mortgages by November 1, 2009. These latest numbers show that they are on their way to meeting that goal.

Most loans are now covered by the program. More than 45 servicers have signed up for the Home Affordable Modification Program, including the 5 largest. Loans covered by these servicers and loans owned or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises account for more than 85% of loans in the country.

Page 2 of the report shows the trial modification activity by servicer, summarized below:

While progress has been made, still only 12 percent of U.S. homeowners eligible for loan modifications have had their mortgages reworked, while 19 percent of eligible borrowers were offered trial modifications, up from 9 and 15 percent in the previous report, respectively.

The government points out that the Home Affordable Modification Program has its limits. When home values were increasing a few years ago, there were still hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. So even if the program is a complete success, we should still expect some foreclosures to occur, because some borrowers do not qualify for the program, while others bought homes well beyond what they could afford and are unable to make the monthly payment even on a modified loan.

Visit the government’s official website to determine your potential eligibility in the Home Affordable Modification Program, or call 1-888-995-4673 to receive direct information and assistance in applying for the program and reach a HUD-approved housing counselor.