Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 9:39 AM
Just a Little Longer…..
From sddt.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Thursday they will extend the suspension of foreclosure sales and evictions from single-family homes through the end of January.
The companies had suspended foreclosures through the holidays, but were expected to resume proceedings after Jan. 9. The government-controlled home loan giants said the extension will allow borrowers facing foreclosure to keep their homes as it works with mortgage servicers to find options for troubled mortgage holders under the Streamlined Modification Program.
Freddie (NYSE: FRE) and Fannie (NYSE: FNM) began the modification program in December, aiming to create more affordable mortgage payments for borrowers at risk of foreclosure. The program applies to borrowers who have missed three payments or more, own and occupy their homes, and have not filed for bankruptcy. Under the program, borrowers can reduce their interest rate, extend the life of the loan or defer payments on part of the principal.
The extended hiatus on foreclosures will give Fannie more time to launch a new policy that will allow renters in company-owned foreclosed properties to stay in their homes, the company said in a news release. Details of the new policy have not been announced.
Fannie personnel have been reviewing seriously delinquent loans to see if borrowers have been contacted and all options to work out their situations have been exhausted, the company said. Freddie Mac Chief Executive David Moffett said in a statement the mortgage giant is “committed to pursuing every responsible opportunity to reduce foreclosures and accelerate the return of stability to the U.S. housing market.”
Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee about half of the $11.5 trillion in U.S. outstanding home loan debt. The government seized control of the sibling companies in September.
Posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 9:39 AM in Foreclosures/REOs, Loan Mods | 14 Comments » | 
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Woohoo! Moral hazard for everyone!!!
greenlander | January 9th, 2009 at 9:40 amOther lenders have resumed the foreclosure parade:
NEW YORK — Foreclosures surged in Los Angeles, New York City and Miami in the fourth quarter, as falling home prices made it harder for owners facing default to refinance or sell, according to a report by PropertyShark.com.
The Los Angeles metropolitan area had the biggest rise among the three cities, the real estate data provider said. The city saw a 69 percent jump in foreclosures and more than double the number of new foreclosure auctions, even after California began requiring lenders to inform borrowers of ways to avoid losing their homes, PropertyShark.com said.
“In Los Angeles, the 110 percent increase in new foreclosure auctions in December over October is troubling,” Bill Staniford, chief executive officer of PropertyShark, said in the report. “Typically we see a slowdown at the end of the year due to the holidays and instead we see a spike upwards.”
Jim the Realtor | January 9th, 2009 at 9:43 amKICK THE DEADBEATS OUT!
I can afford to buy the property at the market price.
Signed,
shadash | January 9th, 2009 at 10:52 amAverage Homebuyer
This screws my plans. Who do I rent to when they can stay for free and as a consequence make me pay more for properties? The real moral hazard here is with future buyers/investors. Might as well call this the Investment Disincentive Act of 2009.
Rob Dawg | January 9th, 2009 at 11:16 amThe Law of Unintended Consequences predicts that a new cottage industry will spring up matching renters with distressed property owners who were going to default anyway. Owners get “security deposits” and renters get a few months of free rent.
Ross | January 9th, 2009 at 12:43 pmEvery month they delay foreclosures is another month that this downturn will persist!
Ah, well, patience…my future downpayment is making me interest money.
-Erica
Erica Douglass | January 9th, 2009 at 12:49 pmI think they are waiting for Obama to get in office. The new administration is more likely to do something unprecedented in the guise of helping “main street”.
jbirdfunk | January 9th, 2009 at 2:37 pmMy wife and I were commenting last night about some friends who have now been living in their Million Dollar Laguna Niguel mansion for 20 months in total since last payment. After their 4th short sale person walked last month, they were unsure what was going to happen, but they got another short sale offer this week, so it looks like they’re going to have another 6 weeks or so of no payment/rent.
We both did the math and realized that we have paid some 50K in rent in the corresponding time for a much, much smaller house.
I have to say, this new form of capitalism sucks butt. I’m losing the will to be both honest and trustworthy. It just doesn’t pay.
Chuck
Chuck Ponzi | January 9th, 2009 at 4:07 pmThere’s another form of ‘capitalism’ on the rise too. Deadbeats who are working the free rent program will make a partial payment, jeopardizing the foreclosure process. By the time we’re done, there will be people who lived virtually rent-free for years.
Jim the Realtor | January 9th, 2009 at 4:43 pmChuck,
You nailed it bro!
Let’s just hope & pray that if we were to need some assistance in the future, these bleeding heart democratic bastards would be just as willing THEN as they are NOW to offer up some help!
Every time I stare at gay Barney I freakin cringe and cannot believe what is coming out of his mouth.
You are getting penalized for being fiscally intelligent. Your renting and waiting for prices to come back to reasonable levels as prices went straight up from 1997 to 2005. The dems are doing everything possible to disallow capitalism and protect the masses.
It pays to be poor and ignorant.
This country is sewered!
Turnack | January 9th, 2009 at 5:24 pmWhy just one more month? Just push it out another year! Who cares, right?
The Blur | January 9th, 2009 at 6:45 pmTurnack/Chuck
I feel the same as you both!!! My husband and I are fiscally responsible! I feel like all of us responsible ones are getting sh** on for being self sufficient and managing our finances! Gay Barney……..I can’t believe that people actually take him serious. Please help me understand what is happening to our country…where is everyone’s integrity? Pride? Very few are personally accountable anymore, and the fools like Gay Barney contribute to the sense of entitlement more and more Americans are starting to subscribe to. Ickkkkkkkkk! Shoring up the economy by maintaining the falsely inflated real estate prices makes no freaking sense to me!!! Let captialism work it out, NOT THE GOVT.!
goldilox | January 9th, 2009 at 7:40 pmI’m against these misguided attempts to stave off foreclosures that are inevitable, but let’s get real here. I feel no sympathy for the folks living rent free for 20 months, or those who eke out a few extra by making a partial payment, but I’m pretty happy to be in my situation and not theirs, and I don’t care if they live in a McMansion three times the size as mine. Their credit is ruined, they are going to be thrown out of their house at some point, and I really doubt they are thinking, “Look at us! We’re living high on the hog for free!” If they are, they’re sociopaths, deserving pity more than jealousy.
As for letting capitalism work it out…recall that what got us into this mess was sold that way.
Blissful Ignoramus | January 10th, 2009 at 4:02 amSo there’s a lot of pissed off fiscally responsible individuals (perhaps the majority of Americans), many of whom vent anger on blog comments. When the hell are we going to band together, go public and protest this BS and actually have an effect? Venting frustration on blog comments doesn’t do jack folks.
FB | January 10th, 2009 at 1:14 pm