The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was expected to help between three to four, million Americans who could no longer afford their mortgage payments. To date, less than 500,000 homeowners have gained modification help.

Homeowners seeking loan modifications are finding it difficult to keep up with payments, while trying to obtain answers from lenders.

Home prices are at an all-time low, as some homeowners wait to sell unaffordable homes. Low mortgage rates, coupled with a semi-optimistic buyers’ market, may mean changes are underway. Yet, home sales remain stagnant as buyers consider alternative housing options. Thousands of homeowners caught in limbo are seeking lender assistance.

According to a Treasury Department press release, lenders are receiving more than 8,000 phone calls related to HAMP daily. This pales in comparison to the number of lender representatives available to answer these calls. As a result, thousands of homeowners seeking a HAMP application or mortgage modification application are being put on hold, in more ways than one.

Another reason why home-modification applications are not being approved is directly linked to Fannie Mae. Homeowners who have Fannie Mae loans can no longer qualify for a modification arrangement, if unemployed. Previously, unemployed homeowners were applying for modifications by including unemployment benefits as a form of income. Fannie Mae has recently put a stop to these applications by disallowing the use of unemployment benefits as a means of steady income.

Fannie Mae representative, Amy Bonitatibus, recently told CNN that the company does not “want to set up borrowers to fail.” Instead, Fannie Mae has employed a tough-love tactic that has left thousands of homeowners in the dark. The Treasury Department issued a similar restriction involving HAMP loans this past July.

There are some other speculations as to why more mortgages are not being modified. Some believe that banks simply aren’t seeing enough government incentives, while others believe that fees charged for missed payments are more enticing to servicers than loan modifications.

Lenders argue that home modifications take time, and that many homeowners aren’t qualifying for a mortgage modification regardless of current hardships. Whatever the reason, HAMP hopefuls will have to keep making mortgage payments or risk foreclosure.

Posted in: Foreclosure
Tags: fannie mae, HAMP, modification applications, mortgage payments, unemployment benefits

Existing-home sales rose in August 2010 following a big correction in July, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million in August from an upwardly revised 3.84 million in July, but remain 19.0% below the 5.10 million-unit pace in August 2009.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales still remain subpar. “The housing market is trying to recover on its own power without the home buyer tax credit. Despite very attractive affordability conditions, a housing market recovery will likely be slow and gradual because of lingering economic uncertainty,” Yun said.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.43% in August from 4.56% in July; the rate was 5.19% in August 2009.

Yun added, “Home values have shown stabilizing trends over the past year, even as the economy shed millions of jobs, because of the home buyer tax credit stimulus. Now that the economy is adding some jobs, the housing market needs to steadily improve and eventually stand on its own.”

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Posted in: Housing Market
Tags: economic uncertainty, existing home sales, freddie mac, home buyer, home values, homeownership, Housing Market, national association of realtors

If you do not take care of your roof, expect for uncomfortable nights when it rains. Expect to spend on expensive repairs and even roof replacements. To avoid all these, take care of your roof. Maintaining it is not difficult. However, you need to exert an effort. As what they say, if you take care of your roof, your roof will take care of you. But how do you do this? What are the steps you need to take?

In order to take care of it, you need to clean it. You should also look out for branches touching your roof. Most importantly, look out for molds that could be lurking on your roof.

Watch out for branches

Having trees at home is advantageous. It provides cleaner environment and can even protect your home. However, you have to monitor its branches as it can cause problems if you let it touch your roof’s surface. You do not have to climb your roof to find out. All you need is to walk around the area and check if the branches have expanded. Cut the branches that almost touch your roof. This is to prevent damages. Additionally, this will allow your roof to dry naturally.

Clean your roof

You should clean your roof regularly. You can use your garden hose to clean it and remove dirt from hard to reach areas. Do this during the summer. Aside from it is safer; your roof will dry faster too. If hosing it down will not remove the dirt, use a brush with a long handle.

Include the gutters and the overhangs when you are cleaning. Remove the debris that has accumulated there. There could be bird droppings, leaves and branches. Remove this because this will clog your gutters. You should do this more often in the fall to prevent leaves from accumulating on your roof.

Check for mold contamination

Molds can develop on your roof especially if the roof is moist. This is why it is important that nothing blocks the sun from drying it. Molds will feed on shingles and other roof parts. This can lead to leaking of your roof. In addition to that, toxic molds can also cause health problems to the residents of the house. If you see black streaks on the roof, call for help right away.

Inspect your attic

You can check your roof from the inside of your house by checking your attic. See if there are markings after a heavy rain. Markings would mean leaks. This is why you have to check the thoroughly. In addition to that, you have to continue to ventilate it properly. This is to eliminate the chances of mold contamination, as proper ventilation will keep moisture level low.

Regularly monitor your roof

An ocular inspection on your roof is necessary at least once every four months. When inspecting the roof, look for cracks or any signs of damages. Once you have uncovered damaged areas, repair them right away to prevent it from getting worst. Repairing it right away will prevent you from incurring expensive repair costs.

Proper maintenance and monitoring will help extend the life of your roof. So make sure that you look after it.

Original Article

Posted in: Home Ownership
Tags: gutters, maintenance, overhangs, roof, roof replacements, shingles

What could go wrong…?

After home sales in July reached one of their lowest points ever, Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan says that the Obama Administration is preparing to set up a pair of programs to help the housing market.

The first initiative will be a government-run loan refinance program run through the Federal Housing Administration, which will work to try and take advantage of record-low interest rates to help lower payments for borrowers. The administration will also launch an emergency homeowners’ loan program to help keep those affected by unemployment out of foreclosure.

“The July numbers were worse than we expected, worse than the general market expected, and we are concerned,” Donovan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. “That’s why we are taking additional steps to move forward.”

Donovan also hinted at the possibility of reviving the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which helped bring many buyers to the market.

According to data from the National Association of Realtors released earlier this month, the sales of existing homes in July dropped 27 percent with the tax credit’s expiration. Sales of new homes also dropped 12 percent last month, reaching their lowest point ever.

Posted in: Mortgages
Tags: federal housing administration, Foreclosure, housing and urban development, Housing Market, mortgage programs, national association of realtors, tax credit