Here are some more interesting excerpts from the recent press release on the progress of the HAMP program:
At the time we launched HAMP in March 2009, President Obama said that the program would “enable as many as three to four million homeowners to modify the terms of their mortgages.”
* The target of three to four million homeowners includes both agency loans (owned or guaranteed by the Government-Sponsored Enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and non-agency loans.
* We have continued to report offers of trial modifications, because the offer is the servicer’s commitment to extend a trial modification subject to the borrower’s agreement. At this point, a homeowner is provided an opportunity to reduce his or her monthly mortgage payment.
* There will be fewer permanent modifications than trial modifications, as modifications are only offered permanent status once the homeowner has accepted a trial modification, has performed for at least three months in a trial modification, and has met the full documentation requirements for the permanent modification. By requiring borrowers to demonstrate their ability and willingness to meet their monthly obligations, the trial modification helps ensure that taxpayer dollars are not spent on unsustainable modifications.
* Loan modifications have a risk of re-default. Among the permanent modifications, some will re-default and that factor is incorporated into the program’s design.
* In fact, we designed our program specifically to protect the taxpayer in cases where re-default occurs payments to servicers, investors, and borrowers are conditional on actual performance over time.
* The projection of three to four million homeowners helped is based on our best estimate of the number of HAMP-eligible households that are likely to require assistance during the four-year program. The number of households that actually require assistance from HAMP during the remaining three years may diverge from our expectations if economic conditions or home prices evolve differently than projected.More than 1.4 million borrowers have been extended a modification offer, with approximately 1.2 million of these approved offers resulting in modification trials. In a program scheduled to last nearly four years (March 2009 through December 2012), either figure places the program well on schedule to meet the goal announced by President Obama.
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