Articles
Aug. 23, 11:33 a.m.
Homeowners still have long, costly waits in the federal foreclosure-prevention program. And for many seeking mortgage modifications, the final answer is no.
Aug. 16, 9:02 a.m.
Mortgage servicers regularly make errors and break the government’s loan modification rules, including giving no reasons for a loan’s rejection, homeowners report to ProPublica.
Aug. 10, 3:17 p.m.
The government’s latest, promising numbers on its mortgage modification program turn out to be wrong. But the new data remains encouraging.
Aug. 10, 8:57 a.m.
New York State has new laws to do what Washington hasn’t: hold mortgage companies accountable for their treatment of homeowners seeking modifications.
July 21, 2:07 p.m.
The formula for testing homeowners’ eligibility for a mortgage modification will not be a secret anymore. The Treasury Department will now have to post the details online.
July 21, 11:14 a.m.
Loan servicers in the federal mortgage modification program continue to have large backlogs, but the administration has not responded with penalties. Many homeowners continue to be stuck in trial modifications.
July 7, 9:41 a.m.
Many housing counselors in California are seeing clients lose their homes while pursuing mortgage modifications. That’s not supposed to happen, but there have been no penalties for the banks involved.
May 28, 1:53 p.m.
Saxon Mortgage has the largest proportion of homeowners caught in modification limbo, yet has not been subject to any government penalties.
May 19, 12:05 a.m.
New data show that Chase has the most homeowners who have waited more than six months for a final answer on whether they’ll get a permanent mortgage modification. Trial modifications are supposed to last only three months.
May 18, 10:35 a.m.
Many homeowners who have started in the government's mortgage modification program have been stuck in trials longer than six months. And nearly as many have been dropped from the program as have received permanent mods.
May 11, 12:06 p.m.
The progress of the program to stanch home foreclosures is still painfully slow, with only $242 million of the pledged $75 billion for loan modifications spent by the end of March.
May 7, 12:37 p.m.
An amendment to the financial reform bill would create a federal "homeowner advocate" office to assist people having trouble with the loan modification program, effectively centralizing the complaint process.
May 5, 3:30 p.m.
The communication breakdown within banks is sometimes so complete that it leads to premature or mistaken foreclosures. Some people have lost their homes even while going through the mortgage modification process.
May 4, 10:29 p.m.
A Missouri man says Chase Home Finance sold his home after assuring him it would not. In a lawsuit, the man says he was mailed loan modification papers that were dated one day after the foreclosure.
May 4, 10:20 p.m.
Communication breakdowns within big banks has cause some people to lose their homes by mistake. The problems have occurred even to homeowners involved in the federal mortgage modification program.
April 30, 12:30 p.m.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has finally acknowledged the depths of the problems with the administration's mortgage modification program. But in testimony before Congress this week, he offered no new solutions.
April 16, 11:27 a.m.
As expected, the number of homeowners being denied permanent mortgage modifications has increased sharply. And some 367,000 homeowners remain in limbo, stuck in trial modifications that have lasted longer than they are supposed to.
April 9, 1:27 p.m.
Taking their turns before the Financial Crisis commission, executives from Fannie Mae said the hybrid nature of the company -- government chartered but stockholder owned -- and the mandate to make loans to increase home ownership were primary factors in its failure.
