4 Million U.S. Homeowners Are 90 Days Or More Delinquent
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on February 17, 2010
New wave of foreclosures by end of 2010 is feared
About 4 million U.S. homeowners are 90 days or more delinquent on their loans or in foreclosure proceedings, Moody’s Economy.com says. A federal loan modification program is helping a relative few.
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By Jim Puzzanghera and Don Lee
February 17, 2010
Reporting from Washington – Experts fear that a new wave of foreclosures will hit this year as prolonged unemployment makes it difficult for millions of homeowners to pay their mortgages — and many of them aren’t likely to get much help from a federal program aimed at keeping them in their houses.
Banks participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program, announced a year ago this week by President Obama, have been slow to turn temporarily reduced mortgage payments into permanent ones.
“The overarching sense is that the mortgage modification process has not worked that well,” said Bert Ely, an independent banking consultant.
Obama administration officials acknowledge that the $75-billion program, which offers banks cash incentives to reduce payments, has had growing pains, and they said they were considering revisions to make it more effective.
Still, the program is expected to show continued progress when data from January are released Wednesday after a strong push by Treasury Department officials to get banks to make more of the modifications permanent.
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