Even the Mortgage Bankers Association on March 6th reported record mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates points to a slowing foreclosure spiral. However, new foreclosure starts year over year and quarter to quarter were relatively flat in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana, states with the highest percentages of loans in foreclosures.
Could the downturn have hit bottom? "That's anyone's guess," says McGee. "But clearly our government has taken essential steps to allow the market to recover in a way that stimulates the economy, keeps interest rates affordable, and helps buyers, sellers, and investors, alike." For example:
-- Last week Senate Republicans blocked consideration of the "Bankruptcy Cram Down" bill that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify the mortgages of troubled borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure. "Cram down would have undermined investor confidence in secondary markets where mortgages are bought and sold, resulting in higher interest rates and larger down-payment requirements,"
-- The temporary increase in loan ceilings for FHA-insured loans and Fannie Mae loans mean the average person now can access affordable, safe insured loans. "Until now, homebuyers in high cost of living areas had been priced out and forced to look to creative expensive mortgage financing options," adds McGee. (Check out the loan ceiling for your area, http://www.fhaoutreach.com/
-- U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman filed a preliminary injunction temporarily barring HUD from enforcing a ban on seller-financed down payment assistance programs. That injunction gives investors another tool to sell houses in today's market and ensures the continuing operation of nonprofits like nehemiahcorp.org to help with down payment assistance for families.
But for others already trapped by soaring mortgage payments and looming foreclosure, it's not enough. Despite talk that the number of overextended homeowners helped by lender workouts is up, so are serious mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. Industry claims aside, homeowners facing foreclosure simply aren't getting the workout assistance they need from lenders and industry, adds Bruce Marks, chief executive of Boston-based Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a nonprofit foreclosure prevention counseling group (www.naca.com)
Hopefully, that will change as interest rates continue dropping and home prices rebound as expected later this year, adds McGee.
