The U.S. government has been working frantically to pass mortgage reform that would require loan modification licensing.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees compliance with the SAFE Act, has proposed that employees handling loan modifications for struggling homeowners also meet the licensing requirements, a policy opposed by banks.  John Courson, CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association said that mandating licenses for mortgage loan modification advisors could slow hiring and hinder efforts to cut home foreclosures.” Courson continued, “We say this is not originating a new home loan, because the loan terms are being reduced on their home mortgage to increase the affordability and reduce the likelihood of a foreclosure.”

The housing department hasn’t set a deadline for a decision, said Lemar Wooley, a spokesman.  According to Anthony Hsieh, CEO of LoanDepot.com, an online mortgage originator based in Irvine, California, the process costs $3,000 to $6,000 to train and pay the fees for each new employee to comply with the mortgage-licensing system. “The mortgage reform law is supposed to make sure we kick the bad ones out,” said Hsieh. “It could be the opposite, keeping the good loan officers out.”

Like California and Arizona, Nevada has been hit by the worst home foreclosure crisis of the last century.  Mortgage relief and Nevada loan modification agreements have been a big topic amongst the mortgage industry, banks and politicians.  The state of Nevada recently passed a law called the mortgage loan modification law.  A loan modification plan gives homeowners a fresh start with an opportunity to pay less than their existing mortgage payment.  Many National mortgage lenders, like BofA, Chase, CitiMortgage and Wells Fargo have agreed to extend mortgage relief and foreclosure prevention assistance in an effort to minimize loan defaults and appease the Obama Administration.  Mortgage loan modification plans have received mixed results so far.  There have been many homeowners who successfully fought off foreclosure, but many banks are reporting re-defaults on the loan modification agreements just 6 months after getting the home loan relief.

The Nevada Supreme Court recently said that the mortgage loan modification law is governed for the lawmakers’ intent. Nevada Supreme Court officials said that the administrative rules are adjusted to make a solution if any problems arise between the homeowner and the lender.  The State further noted that there have already been three changes in rules for administering the mortgage loan modification law from the previous year.  In addition, Ron Titus, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts said, “We have 270 mediators, and the vast majority operate very comfortably within the rules of the program and work very hard to help the parties find common ground and reach a resolution.” Titus further states that the mediators can assure a reliable process and there will be unprejudiced treatment between the lender and the homeowner. 

The mortgage loan modification law only has one sanction and it can only be applied to the lenders. If a particular lender won’t show up for the mediation meeting, he will be given a sanction. This has only occurred once when Clark County District Judge Donald M. Mosley ordered a $50,000 sanction against Flagstar Bank FSB. The lender failed to appear in a hearing and was not able to pass any legal documentations of foreclosure in a particular mediation meeting. This loan modification article was written by Jason Blackmore.

Borrowers across the nation continue to fall behind on their home loan payments. Many have contacted their mortgage lenders in an effort to renegotiate mortgage rates.  Many borrowers have been offered loan modification agreements and forbearances. Clearly the process of modifying their mortgage has made most homeowners become weary.

What else could you call it when almost 1 in 7 of South and Central Floridians who jumped into the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable Program in January in hopes of getting a loan modification had dropped out by May?  The borrowers who have dropped out have joined an exodus of more than 215,000 borrowers nationwide in the past five months. They went through the trouble of applying, only to leave with nothing to show for it.

The answer, according to representatives of Chase and Wells Fargo/Wachovia among the largest banks operating in Florida is: Those borrowers did not meet the loan modification qualifications. Many of the mortgage relief prospects were not able to send in the documentation or their loan modification application was not completed correctly.

Using the May report from the Treasury Department, it’s clear that Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Orlando-Kissimmee are the largest metro markets in the nation for loan modifications. The two regions account for 6.8% of all Making Home Affordable loans nationwide, topping Los Angeles 6.4% and New York 6.1%.  Here, even those borrowers who do get a loan modification say the process is too vexing. Even if they comply with all the lender’s rules, borrowers say they get the runaround and often, contradictory answers from one day to the next.  Read the original article online Thousands giving up on home loan modification hopes.

A few of the major home lenders in the Making Home Affordable Program have begun to work with 2^nd lien holders in an effort to modify and restructure their delinquent mortgage.  Clearly the goal is to offer a second mortgage modification program that makes their loan payments more affordable. Successfully achieving a principal reduction or negotiating a second mortgage buyout is possible.   Many borrowers have been unsuccessful working with their second lien holder.  Recently several large second mortgage service companies have announced new mortgage relief initiatives that have become available to help homeowners who are struggling with a second lien.  Many homeowners have been rejected in their attempt for mortgage refinancing solutions are frequently denied because their second mortgage raises their combined loan to value level beyond the threshold allowed for refinancing.

We still recommend that homeowners to talk to their lender and let them know about the a Second Mortgage Modification Program that is available to help distressed homeowners negotiate better second mortgage terms or a buyout. Read the original article > Negotiating Second Mortgage Relief