Homeland Assistance, Inc. Reports 212,000 Borrowers Avoid Foreclosure in Sept.

2.5 million troubled homeowners have avoided foreclosure since the mortgage meltdown began in the summer of 2007.
212,000 borrowers stay in their homes in September, a new record and an increase of 12% from August.

Despite our best efforts, however, many homeowners are still falling through the cracks. 85,793 homes were lost to foreclosure in September, down 1% from August. At that rate, more than a million families will have their homes repossessed in the next twelve months.

Indeed, it isn’t clear just how many U.S. homeowners are currently in trouble. But the most recent report from RealtyTrak, the online marketer of foreclosed properties found that there were 265,968 new foreclosure filings issued in September alone.
Too many homeowners fail to act early, when repayment problems are still manageable.

“This is an emotional issue for homeowners,” he said, “and our job is to help them not lose heart, help them to stay engaged and realize there is help out there.”

Mortgage Modifications Rising

The proportion of mortgage modifications, which permanently change the terms of a mortgage to make them less onerous, climbed from 41.7% in August to 46.2% of all workouts in September.

The good news is that several new foreclosure-prevention efforts are starting to kick in, and that should boost the number of homeowners that get help.

On Oct. 1 the Hope for Homeowners Program, which was a part of the massive housing rescue bill passed in July, went into effect. Under it, the Federal Housing Authority will guarantee refinanced loans if lenders agree to write down the mortgage balances to 90% of a home’s market value.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 2:39 am and is filed under Stop Foreclosure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.