loan servicers prevent homeowners from saving there homes , slow inefficient, stalling

added http://hellotxt.com loan modifications are loan servicers nightmare for failure to provide homeowners relief Here in phoenix, Arizona where housing is still in the bottom of the ocean , loan servicers refuse to make home ownership a viable option as thousands of normal, scared homeowners wait hours on the phone to get someone to talk to about how to save there home. Loan servicing companies refuse to speed up the process of federal mandated orders to provide quick and reasonable care to stop the flow of foreclosures in phoenix, scottsdale, glendale, and mesa arizona. Many critics argue that the pace of modifications under the federal Making Home Affordable (MHA) program isn’t keeping stride with the nation’s raging foreclosure problem, so the Obama administration announced Monday that it is taking a new approach to pressure servicers into converting more trial modifications to “permanent” status. The government says that from now on, servicers failing to meet performance obligations under the federal program will face punishment, “subject to consequences which could include monetary penalties and sanctions.” The Treasury is also instituting new procedures and additional paperwork that will allow for closer monitoring of mortgage companies’ foreclosure prevention efforts. Major servicers will be required to submit a schedule to the Department demonstrating their plans to reach a decision on each home loan for which they have documentation and to communicate either a modification agreement or denial letter to those borrowers. Each of these top servicers will also be assigned an “account liaison,” a representative from the Treasury or program administrator Fannie Mae who will follow up daily as necessary to monitor progress against the servicer’s submitted plan. In addition, daily progress will be aggregated by the end of each business day and reported to the administration. Treasury officials say the mortgage industry isn’t doing enough to keep people in their homes with the tools provided them by the federal government, and soon that alleged lack of effort will be on display for the world to see. According to the New York Times, the administration also plans to resort to public humiliation as a means of persuasion. A Treasury official told the paper over the weekend that the administration will openly wag its federal finger at those servicers who it feels are lagging in their efforts to churn out permanent mortgage mods by publicizing the servicers’ names. Michael S. Barr, Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, told the New York Times, “The banks are not doing a good enough job. Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be.” Not only is the administration playing on servicers’ sense of Public Relations, but it’s also tightening its grip on those compensatory carrots. Barr says the Treasury will not shell out the incentive payments promised to mortgage modifiers until homeowners successfully complete the 90-day trial modification and the servicer converts the workout to a permanent modification. “They’re not getting a penny from the federal government until they move forward,” Barr told the Times. Murmurs throughout the industry are labeling the administration’s newfound drive for modification conversion as a political ruse. Next month’s report from the Treasury on MHA performance is expected to include data on the number of permanent modifications converted by each servicer, and by all preliminary estimates the numbers will not be good. According to a report from the Congressional Oversight Panel last month, fewer than 2,000 assisted homeowners had successfully completely the trial mod period and been converted to permanent status. The administration said in its announcement Monday, “Roughly 375,000 of the borrowers who have begun trial modifications since the start of the program are scheduled to convert to permanent modifications by the end of the year.” But the key phrase here is “scheduled.” Many servicers say the problem is not how swiftly they can finalize the loan workouts as permanent, but delays on the homeowner’s part to complete all the necessary documentation for conversion. The administration is hoping to address this issue as well. The Treasury is extending the period for trial modifications started on or before September 1st to give homeowners more time to submit required information, and it is streamlining the application process and paperwork requirements. Servicers will also be required to report to the administration the status of each modification to help identify situations where borrowers face obstacles in moving to the permanent phase. As part of the new actions announced Monday, additional outreach initiatives at the state, local, and county level are also being deployed, as well as new Web tools and resources to help borrowers’ quickly submit the required documentation. One special servicer, Florida-based Ocwen Financial, stands out as already having considerable success in moving troubled homeowners into a permanent modification. Paul Koches, Ocwen’s EVP and general counsel, explained to DS News that his organization’s trial-to-permanent conversion rate is well over 50 percent, versus the rest of the industry’s average conversion rate of single digit percentages. According to Koches, there are three key reasons for Ocwen’s high change-over rate: • scalable technology that allows Ocwen to perform the re-underwriting upfront and maximize the likelihood of sustainable results; • the use of behavioral science, psychological principles, and communication to ensure buy-in from the homeowner; and • partnerships with nonprofits and faith-based groups working at the grassroots level to assist the servicer with homeowner outreach and gathering the required documents. “We’re happy to see the shift in focus more to permanent mods rather than trial mods,” Koches said. “Obviously, it’s the number of trials that are converted to permanent mods that will make a difference in bringing down foreclosures.” Share this on del.icio.usDigg this!Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUponShare this on TechnoratiPost this to MySpaceShare this on FacebookShare this on LinkedinMoved Permanently The document has moved here. " rel="nofollow" class="external" title="Tweet This!">Tweet This!Subscribe to the comments for this post?Add this to Google BookmarksSubmit this to Twittley Leave a Comment to update and read statusloan modifications are loan servicers nightmare for failure to provide homeowners relief Here in phoenix, Arizona where housing is still in the bottom of the ocean , loan servicers refuse to make home ownership a viable option as thousands of normal, scared homeowners wait hours on the phone to get someone to talk to about how to save there home. Loan servicing companies refuse to speed up the process of federal mandated orders to provide quick and reasonable care to stop the flow of foreclosures in phoenix, scottsdale, glendale, and mesa arizona. Many critics argue that the pace of modifications under the federal Making Home Affordable (MHA) program isn’t keeping stride with the nation’s raging foreclosure problem, so the Obama administration announced Monday that it is taking a new approach to pressure servicers into converting more trial modifications to “permanent” status. The government says that from now on, servicers failing to meet performance obligations under the federal program will face punishment, “subject to consequences which could include monetary penalties and sanctions.” The Treasury is also instituting new procedures and additional paperwork that will allow for closer monitoring of mortgage companies’ foreclosure prevention efforts. Major servicers will be required to submit a schedule to the Department demonstrating their plans to reach a decision on each home loan for which they have documentation and to communicate either a modification agreement or denial letter to those borrowers. Each of these top servicers will also be assigned an “account liaison,” a representative from the Treasury or program administrator Fannie Mae who will follow up daily as necessary to monitor progress against the servicer’s submitted plan. In addition, daily progress will be aggregated by the end of each business day and reported to the administration. Treasury officials say the mortgage industry isn’t doing enough to keep people in their homes with the tools provided them by the federal government, and soon that alleged lack of effort will be on display for the world to see. According to the New York Times, the administration also plans to resort to public humiliation as a means of persuasion. A Treasury official told the paper over the weekend that the administration will openly wag its federal finger at those servicers who it feels are lagging in their efforts to churn out permanent mortgage mods by publicizing the servicers’ names. Michael S. Barr, Treasury’s assistant secretary for financial institutions, told the New York Times, “The banks are not doing a good enough job. Some of the firms ought to be embarrassed, and they will be.” Not only is the administration playing on servicers’ sense of Public Relations, but it’s also tightening its grip on those compensatory carrots. Barr says the Treasury will not shell out the incentive payments promised to mortgage modifiers until homeowners successfully complete the 90-day trial modification and the servicer converts the workout to a permanent modification. “They’re not getting a penny from the federal government until they move forward,” Barr told the Times. Murmurs throughout the industry are labeling the administration’s newfound drive for modification conversion as a political ruse. Next month’s report from the Treasury on MHA performance is expected to include data on t