WASHINGTON – State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) in North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina can begin to use $600 million in foreclosure-prevention assistance from the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (“Hardest Hit Fund”) under plans approved today by the Obama Administration.

This assistance will support local initiatives to assist struggling homeowners in these five states that have high percentages of their population living in areas of economic distress due to unemployment.

NEW YORK, NY July 28, 2010 – The Advertising Council, in partnership with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced today the launch of a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to encourage homeowners who are struggling with their monthly mortgage payments to learn about the Making Home Affordable Program.

While over one million homeowners have already received assistance from the program, the national campaign encourages other struggling homeowners who may be eligible for assistance to reach out for the help they need through free resources made available by the Federal Government.

Save your home and modify your home loan. Call 866-910-7065

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION APPROVES STATE PLANS FOR USE OF $1.5 BILLION IN
‘HARDEST HIT FUND’ FORECLOSURE-PREVENTION FUNDING

Florida will offer up mortgage payment assistance to the unemployed and under-employed while they seek re-employment. The state will also offer principal reduction or second lien extinguishment if necessary to achieve a mortgage modification.

Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada Will Receive First Round of Funding Under Program to Support Innovative Local Initiatives to Assist Struggling Homeowners in States Hit Hardest by the Housing Crisis

WASHINGTON – State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada can begin to use $1.5 billion in “Hardest Hit Fund” foreclosure-prevention funding under plans approved today by the Obama Administration. This aid will support innovative local initiatives to assist struggling homeowners in those states, as part of the first round of funding available under this new program.

“These states have identified a number of innovative programs that will make a real difference in the lives of many homeowners facing foreclosure,” said Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Herbert M. Allison, Jr. “While we’ve made important progress stabilizing the housing market and keeping responsible families in their homes, the Obama Administration will continue to do everything it can to help those who are struggling the most during this difficult time. Today marks an important milestone for delivering relief to homeowners through the Hardest Hit Fund program.”

President Obama established the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (“Hardest Hit Fund”) in February 2010 to provide targeted aid to families in the states hit hardest by the housing downturn. The states approved to receive aid today as part of the first round of funding provided through this program each experienced a 20 percent or greater decline in average housing prices.

Each state Housing Finance Agency (HFA) gathered public input and created Hardest Hit Fund programs designed to meet the unique challenges facing struggling homeowners in their respective housing markets. The five HFAs submitted their Hardest Hit Fund proposals to Treasury on April 16. Treasury then reviewed each state’s proposals to ensure compliance with the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and offered technical assistance to develop performance and reporting metrics. Approved states will now begin to set up and roll out their specific Hardest Hit Fund programs in order to provide relief to struggling homeowners as soon as possible, with specific implementation timing depending on the types of programs offered, specific state-level procurement procedures, and other factors.

The proposals approved today include programs to assist struggling homeowners with negative equity through principal reduction; assist the unemployed or under-employed make their mortgage payments; facilitate the settlement of second liens; facilitate short sales and/or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure; and assist in the payment of arrearages.

In March 2010, the Obama Administration announced a second round of Hardest Hit Fund aid totaling $600 million for five additional states with high areas of concentrated unemployment: North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. The proposals that these states submitted are currently being reviewed.
A state-by-state summary of the Hardest Hit Fund proposals approved today is available below. For copies of the approved proposals, visit: http://www.financialstability.gov/roadtostability/hardesthitfund.html

See if you can benefit from a Loan Modification by calling the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065 or email us at am@ioannoulaw.com.

Obama Administration Introduces
Monthly Housing Scorecard

Impact of Administration Efforts Seen in SIGNS OF House Price Stabilization and Increased Affordability

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today introduced a monthly scorecard on the nation’s housing market.  Each month, the scorecard will incorporate key housing market indicators and highlight the impact of the Administration’s unprecedented housing recovery efforts, including assistance to homeowners through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). This scorecard contains key data on the health of the housing market including:

* After 30 straight months of decline and an expectation of continued nearly 14 percent decline, home prices leveled off in the past year and expectations have adjusted upward

* Mortgages are more affordable: due to historically low interest rates, more than 6 million homeowners have refinanced, saving an estimated $150 per month on average and more than $11 billion in total. And more than 2.5 million families have purchased a home using the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

* Servicers report that the number of homeowners receiving restructured mortgages since April 2009 has increased to 2.8 million. Additionally, nearly half of homeowners unable to enter a HAMP permanent modification enter an alternative modification with their servicer, and fewer than 10 percent of cancelled trials move to foreclosure sale.

* However, the foreclosure prevention initiatives are not intended to help all borrowers and the market will continue to adjust for some time.  The supply of homes on and off market remains near all-time highs.  It will take time to work though this large inventory.

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See if you can benefit from a Loan Modification by calling the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065 or email us at am@ioannoulaw.com.

Qualify for loan modifications and get help under the new Obama home plan.

Many homeowners pay their mortgages on time but are not able to refinance or take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates due to a decrease in the value of their home.

See if you can benefit from a Loan Modification by calling the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065 or email Adam at am@ioannoulaw.com.

The Obama administration introduced the Home Affordable Modification Program which allows up to 9 million homeowners to reduce their mortgage payments by modifying their loans.

See if you can benefit from a Loan Modification by calling the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065 or email us at am@ioannoulaw.com.

A Loan Modification is a permanent change in one or more of the terms of a mortgagor’s loan. This allows the loan to be reinstated, and results in a payment you can afford.

See if you can benefit from a Loan Modification by calling the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065 or email Adam at am@ioannoulaw.com.

We Are Here to Help. If you would like experts to review your options and take advantage of lower mortgage rates call the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065 or email us at am@ioannoulaw.com.

The Home Affordable Modification Program aims to help responsible American homeowners maintain a sustainable monthly mortgage payment through a pay-for-success framework that aligns incentives of borrowers, lenders and servicers. Over 900,000 Americans have begun trial modifications since the program’s inception and over 110,000 have been approved for permanent modifications as of December 31, 2009. The median monthly savings for individual homeowners is more than $500 per month. Over 100 servicers have signed up to participate in HAMP, covering more than 89% of mortgage debt outstanding in the country. For a free consult please email us at am@ioannoulaw.com

Today’s guidance refines the documentation process and makes it easier for eligible borrowers in trial modifications to get permanent modifications quickly.  Under this guidance:  A simple, standard package of documents will be required prior to the servicer’s evaluation of the borrower for a trial modification. This process will be required for all new HAMP modifications that became effective after June 1, although mortgage servicers may implement it sooner.

For more information call the law offices of Ioannou & Ioannou, LLP 866 910 7065.

ADMINISTRATION UPDATES DOCUMENTATION COLLECTION PROCESS AND RELEASES GUIDANCE TO EXPEDITE PERMANENT MODIFICATIONS

WASHINGTON – As part of the Administration’s ongoing housing market stabilization plan, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today released updated guidance for servicers participating in the Administration’s mortgage modification program. This guidance refines the documentation requirements in order to expedite conversions of current trial modifications to permanent ones.
“With more than 850,000 homeowners in trial and permanent modifications, we are providing immediate relief to struggling homeowners,” said Phyllis Caldwell, Chief of Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office. “Today’s guidance represents our commitment to more efficiently move qualified homeowners into permanent modifications.”

“Increasing the number of borrowers receiving permanent modifications under HAMP is critical to our efforts to preserve affordable and sustainable homeownership,” said HUD Senior Advisor for Housing Finance William Apgar. “While we continue to meet our goals to provide immediate assistance, the updates announced today should enable servicers to transition borrowers more quickly and easily from trial to permanent modification.”
On December 23, 2009, the Administration required most trial modifications to be placed in a temporary review period to ensure that all borrowers are being fairly evaluated for the program.  During this temporary review period, servicers were not permitted to cancel an active HAMP trial modification for any reason other than failure to meet the HAMP property eligibility requirements. This allowed servicers to convert a significant number of trial modifications to permanent ones. In fact, the total number of conversions more than doubled in December. Guidance released today will help improve this conversion process for the future.

The updated process requires that key documents, including proof of income, be obtained from the borrower before a borrower evaluation can begin. This more robust requirement of upfront documentation will make it easier and quicker to convert trial modifications to permanent modifications and enable servicers to use their resources more effectively.

Call 866 910 7065 for more information.