The Obama Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) and Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) are still getting mixed reviews as we approach their one year anniversary. Several new outlets are reporting that the programs are still moving along pretty slowly. Here are some bits from a WSJ article on the topic:
Thousands of homeowners participating in the Obama administration’s foreclosure-prevention plan could miss a government deadline for completing necessary paperwork, putting them at risk of disqualification.
The program, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s housing-rescue effort, was launched in February and has been bedeviled by paperwork problems from the start. Many companies have given borrowers modified mortgage terms on a trial basis, based on verbal information, and have struggled to get the documents required to finalize mortgage modifications.
According to data released by the Treasury Department Friday, more than 900,000 borrowers have begun trial modifications under the program, but just 7% of them have received permanent changes so far. …
he administration has said the mortgage program could help as many as four million borrowers. It provides financial incentives for mortgage companies and investors to reduce loan payments to affordable levels.
Through December, 66,465 borrowers had received permanent fixes; an additional 46,056 modifications have been finalized, but await the borrower’s signature. The number of borrowers who have received completed modifications, while low, has more than doubled since November. The Treasury Department announced in December a “conversion drive” designed to increase permanent fixes.