Homestead Financial Services Now Announces Principle Reductions

Homestead Financial Services (HFS) now announces working with The Federal Housing Finance Agency to help homeowners receive principle reductions on their homes.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer principal reduction to certain underwater borrowers who are still struggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis to help them avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes. The new Principal Reduction Modification program is a one-time offering for borrowers whose loans are owned or guaranteed by any of the major lenders such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, JP Morgan/Chase, and all mortgage servicers in the industry. The modification will be available to owner-occupant borrowers who are 30 days or more delinquent as of March 1, 2016, whose mortgages have an outstanding unpaid principal balance of $800,000 or less, and whose mark-to-market loan-to-value (MTMLTV) ratios exceed 115 percent.

The program was approved under FHFA's statutory authority in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 "to implement a plan that seeks to maximize assistance for homeowners and … minimize foreclosures," including through a "reduction in loan principal," while minimizing losses for the Enterprises (12 USC 5220(b)) as well as other provisions of law.
FHFA also announced today that it has approved further enhancements to its requirements for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's sales of non-performing loans (NPLs). The new enhancements: 1) establish that NPL buyers must evaluate borrowers whose MTMLTV ratio exceeds 115 percent for modifications that include principal reduction and/or arrearage forgiveness; 2) forbid NPL buyers from unilaterally releasing liens and "walking away" from vacant properties; and, 3) establish more specific proprietary loan modification standards for NPL buyers.

The new enhancements draw on the experiences of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with NPL sales over the past year and are consistent with current practices of most NPL investors. They are designed to minimize foreclosures, help mitigate the potential for neighborhood blight and decay, and help improve loan modification success rates.

"The national housing market has significantly improved in recent years but there are still areas of the country where home values have not recovered and negative equity remains a real problem," said FHFA Director Melvin L. Watt. "The Principal Reduction Modification program we are announcing today, along with the changes we are making to our NPL sales guidelines, will allow an opportunity for delinquent, underwater borrowers in these areas to avoid foreclosure and save their homes," he said.

In announcing the Principal Reduction Modification program, Director Watt also said: "This plan will no doubt be viewed by some as too small and too late and viewed by others as too large and unnecessary. However, the plan is consistent with FHFA's statutory obligation to 'maximize assistance for homeowners' by providing some borrowers what could well be their final opportunity to avoid foreclosure.

If you are still delinquent with your mortgage, owe more than your property is worth, have an interest above 3% or have been previously turned down for a loan modification then Homestead Financial Services can definitely help you resolve your mortgage needs.

To contact Homestead Financial Services, please call our toll free number at 844-414-3883 or email us at info@homesteadfi.com and someone will contact you immediately.

Homestead Financial Services is a full service loan modification and credit repair firm that takes problematic credit reports seriously. We understand the applicable consumer protection laws, and we help our clients to leverage those legal rights so that their credit reports remain fair, accurate, and substantiated.

From bankruptcies, to charge-offs, to tax liens, we have challenged virtually every credit problem, doing work for our clients that resulted in items removed from their credit reports last year alone.

Home loan modification and credit Repair is not what many people believe it is. Effective, enduring home loan modification and credit repair requires taking appropriate action with your lender and creditors rather than simply creating ineffective disputes for credit bureaus. We help our clients frame the tough questions that they are legally entitled to ask, and we invoke several consumer protection statutes in our work to improve their lives.

Homestead Financial Services
1976 S. LaCienega Blvd
Suite 654
Los Angeles, CA
90034

This release was published on openPR.