Jan 5th 2012 1:30PM
Most of Washington's initiatives to staunch the flow of foreclosures glutting the housing market have been woefully inadequate. (We're looking at you, HAMP, HAFA and HARP). But a new idea put forth by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might actually make a dent in the bank-owned backlog: Allow renters to move into... Continue Reading »
Dec 13th 2011 7:00AM
Here comes another black eye for the Fed's much-maligned mortgage modification program. Housingwire reporter Jon Prior has crunched the numbers and found that the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is most effective when it actually reduces the principal owed on upside-down mortgages, not just extending borrowers'... Continue Reading »
Oct 11th 2011 5:00PM
It's not mortgage principal reduction, but it's a start. Bank of America is quietly rolling out an incentive program in parts of Florida in which they'll pay distressed homeowners up to $20,000 if they successfully short-sell their home, according to The Palm Beach Post. A short sale is an arrangement in which the lender... Continue Reading »
Jun 16th 2011 11:00AM
In the pecking order of risky real estate transactions, homebuyers are usually most wary of short sales, which are notoriously more complicated than foreclosures. But with some key revisions to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program in April, short sales could suddenly become more accessible to both... Continue Reading »
Feb 7th 2011 11:59AM
So it appears that some Congress-critters are agitating about the utter failure that is the suite of government loan modification programs. House Republicans want to repeal the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP), calling it a "colossal failure". Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA), a sub-program, is also... Continue Reading »
