HOPE NOW: Monthly foreclosure preventions exceeded 200,000 for first time in SeptemberMortgagePress.comHOPE NOW, foreclosures, homeowners, sub-prime ARMs
HOPE NOW, the private sector alliance of mortgage servicers,
counselors, and investors that has been working aggressively to
prevent foreclosures and keep homeowners in their homes, announced
that, due to the continuing efforts of HOPE NOW and the broader
mortgage industry, nearly 2.5 million homeowners have avoided
foreclosure and been able to stay in their homes since July
2007.
HOPE NOW also announced that the mortgage lending industry
helped 212,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure in September. This is
the first time since HOPE NOW began compiling data in July 2007
that the number of foreclosures prevented in one month exceeded
200,000. It is also 30,000 (15.6 percent) more than the previous
record of 192,000 foreclosure preventions set in August 2008.
HOPE NOW also announced that, because of mortgage lending
industry efforts through the third quarter of 2008, approximately
1.6 million homeowners had been able to avoid foreclosure so far
this year. This is more than the approximately 1.5 million
homeowners the industry helped in all of 2007. If the current trend
continues, in 2008 the mortgage lending industry will help
approximately 2.1 million homeowners stay in their homes and avoid
foreclosure, an almost 40 percent increase over the number of
homeowners helped in 2007.
In September, mortgage servicers helped homeowners avoid
foreclosure by completing 212,000 mortgage workouts, which include
both modifications to the terms of existing mortgages and repayment
plans. Barring an unforeseen life event such as a job loss, death,
or illness, all workouts are designed to enable a homeowner to
remain in his or her home as long as he or she wishes to do so.
The number of homeowners helped in September through mortgage
modifications 98,000 also set a new record. September modifications
were 22.5 percent higher than the 79,000 completed in August 2008.
Total repayment plans initiated in September were 113,000 -- 3,000
more than the number initiated in August.
According to Faith Schwartz, HOPE NOW's executive director, the
latest results show that the industry is making a difference for
homeowners. "This is a very challenging time for many homeowners,"
she said. "HOPE NOW members are continuing to explore new ways to
help more homeowners avoid foreclosure and will keep looking for
additional options. We urge concerned homeowners to call their
servicer, Homeowner's HOPE Hotline, or a HUD-certified counseling
agency to get the help the need."
The HOPE NOW report estimates that on an industrywide basis:
• Since July 2007, mortgage servicers helped 2.47 million
homeowners avoid foreclosure.
• Mortgage servicers provided loan workouts for
approximately 212,000 borrowers in September 2008.
• In September, approximately 113,000 homeowners received
repayment plans; approximately 98,000 received loan
modifications.
• Nearly 59 percent of homeowners with subprime loans who
received workouts through mortgage servicers received
modifications.
A summary table of the results is attached and can be found by
clicking here.
HOPE NOW today also announced the results of a separate survey
of sub-prime adjustable rate mortgages with rates resetting in
2008. The results, reported by 9 companies representing
approximately 60 percent of subprime loans, are as follows:
• Rates on approximately 1.4 million subprime loans were
scheduled to reset between January and September 2008.
• Since rates began to reset on these loans in January 2008,
those loans that were current at reset and subsequently started the
foreclosure process account for 1.3 percent of remaining
loans.
• Nearly 111,000 of the 1.4 million loans have been
modified. Over 73 percent of these modifications are for 5 years or
longer.
• Almost 524,000 of the subprime adjustable rate loans that
were originally scheduled to reset during this period were paid in
full when the homeowner refinanced the loan or sold the
property.
For more information, visit www.hopenow.com.
