As Servicers Shift Focus from HAMP, Completed Mods Near 1M Mark

By: Carrie Bay The industry has completed about 975,000 permanent loan modifications so far in 2010, according to estimates released this week by the HOPE NOW Alliance. Of those, just over 331,000 have been processed under the umbrella of the federal government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), while nearly 644,000 have been restructured using servicers’ […]

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Barclays Argues Treasury Report on HAMP Redefaults is Misleading

By: Carrie Bay Earlier this week, the Treasury Department released its monthly progress report on the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Included in the Treasury’s latest installment is a new section detailing the performance of loans permanently modified through the HAMP initiative. In commentary published Wednesday, analysts at the research firm Barclays Capital took […]

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Ocwen Buys HomEq Servicing for $1.3 Billion

By: Carrie Bay Barclays said Friday that it has agreed to sell HomEq Servicing, its U.S. mortgage servicing business, to Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. Ocwen will pay $1.3 billion “in cash on completion,” Barclays said. The transaction aligns the two companies with the highest modification conversion rates under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The […]

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HAMP Servicers Put Nearly 300,000 in Permanent Mods

The Treasury Department released April data for the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Monday, showing that permanent modifications have been initiated for 299,092 struggling homeowners. That’s an increase of 68,000 or almost 13 percent over March. Of the nearly 300,000 permanent loan restructurings granted, 3,744 have been cancelled. Eighty-one of those cancellations occurred because […]

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House Bill Would Allow Those Facing Foreclosure to Stay on as Renters

Two House Democrats have introduced a bill to create a “right to rent” for homeowners facing foreclosure. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Arizona) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), would allow a family receiving a foreclosure notice to petition a judge to stay in their home as renters under a 5-year lease. The […]

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