John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... There were 10,574 homeowners in Colorado participating in the government-sponsored loan modification program through November, ranking it No. 19.
Earlier, InsideRealEstateNews.com was one of the few media outlets to write about the October numbers, in which Colorado ranked 20th. (For the earlier blog, go to this link.) California was No. 1, with 148,350 loans, through November.
Meanwhile, on a national basis, only 31,382 modifications have transitioned to the permanent phase, out of the more than 780,000 trial modifications under way across the country. Of those, more than 10 percent – 3,622 – are from Aurora Loan Services, based in Douglas County.
However, the government said the program is on track to meet its goals over the next several years, the administration said.
” Modifications are providing real benefits to homeowners – borrowers in modifications are saving an average of over $550 per month,” the report notes.
Today’s report from the Obama Administration also noted that Aurora Loan is the seventh-largest loan service in the nation, as far as its HAMP, or Home Affordable Modification Program portfolio. Aurora Loan, a division of bankrupt Lehman Bros., had a portfolio of 35,608 loans. Of those, 19,413 are GSE loans, such as those backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, 13,013 were private loans, and 368 are portfolio loans.
Aurora Loan holds 75,829 loans that are at least 60 days delinquent, which may be eligible to participate in the loan-modification program. Thirty three percent of its eligible loans are either in trial or permanent programs, ranking it fourth on a percentage basis. It is bested only by Saxon Mortgage Services Inc. at 44 percent; CitiMortgage Inc., 43%; and GMAC Mortgage Inc., 39%. The national average is 24%.
Almost 3.3 millions are at least 60-days delinquent and could be eligible. Services so far have extended the loan-modification plans to 1.03 borrowers, and 759,058 are enrolled. Bank of America, which bought Countrywide Financial, has more than 1 million borrowers at least 60 days delinquent, the largest in the country. Wells Fargo, which has a large presence in Colorado, holds 334,949 loans that may be eligible And Wachovia Mortgage, now owned by Wells Fargo, has 82,457.
The Obama Administration, in its monthly Making Home Affordable (MHA) report, for the first time included the number of modifications modifications that have transitioned from the trial to permanent phase as well as a break-out of the 15 metropolitan areas with the highest program activity. Denver is not one of those areas.
According to servicer reports, most borrowers in modifications are meeting their responsibilities to make their payments.
“Servicers need to do their part to help borrowers complete the process and get to the finish line,” the report says. Top administration officials met with servicers in Washington, DC this week to urge a faster pace in converting borrowers to permanent modifications.
“As this report illustrates, struggling homeowners across the country continue to receive immediate relief in the form of reduced monthly payments and a second chance to stay in their homes,” said Chief of Treasury’s Homeownership Preservation Office ) Phyllis Caldwell. “Our focus now is on working with servicers, borrowers and organizations to get as many of those eligible homeowners as possible into permanent modifications.”
“Our challenge now is to keep the pressure on,” added HUD Senior Advisor for Mortgage Finance William Apgar. “HUD approved counselors are working with borrowers to ensure they are doing their part to transition into sustainable permanent modifications and we will ensure that servicers convert as many of those modifications by the end of the year as scheduled as they are scheduled to.”
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865
I appreciate this website for no-nonsense updates about the latest in real estate. Great job! Expect me here often.