Making Home Affordable – Website Helps Homeowners Struggling with Mortgage Payments

Since President Obama announced the Making Home Affordable program, lenders have been flooded with calls from homeowners seeking assistance.  I am currently working with one bank on a short sale transaction, and since the announcement, it has been virtually impossible to speak to anyone from the loss mitigation department.  The phone lines for this bank have been restructured specifically to address the volume of inquiries about loan restructuring options.  I visited my own lender’s website, and found an online form I could fill out for a preliminary assessment and to enter my name in a queue to speak to a workout specialist. 

This is not the first government program that has been launched to assist homeowners seeking to assistance to prevent foreclosure.  Past programs have been fairly ineffective in offering real relief to homeowners because they have relied on voluntary action on the part of lenders. The difference in the new program is that is puts a great deal of resources in the hands of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two institutions that have received large government bailouts and concesquently must now abide by the governments demands for real homeowner assistance.   As the Making Home Affordableimplies, those with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are directly supported but the website. But the site also offers advice for homeowners working with other lenders who are now under increased pressure to provide assistance as well. 

The website offers a tool that allows you to determine if your loan is a Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac- backed loan. There is a calculator to help you determine your eligibility for assistance with either a loanmodification or refinance.  There are resources to put you in touch with a HUD counselor who can help you review your options and tips for working with your own lender if you do not have a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan.  A very important resources on teh site is an overview of scams to be aware of.  There should NEVER be a charge to workout a refinance or modification of your loan, but there are more and more companies popping up that are more than willing to take your money claiming to be able to help you. 

Time will tell if this new program truly offers assistance to troubled homeowners and starts to ease the increasing number of foreclosures flooding the market.  But this tie around, there is a wealth of information available to help you get in touch with the right people AND increasing pressure on lenders to work with their customers to find real solutions.