Away with thee, demon scammers! MHA gets some policing.
Posted By Dana Delworth on April 6, 2009
Government to Offer Plan to Fight Home Loan Scams
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 5, 2009; 5:06 PM
The Obama administration will announce Monday a multi-agency effort to combat loan modification scams.
As the country’s foreclosure rate rises, companies have popped up offering to help borrowers save their homes. But banks and consumer advocates complain that the fees, which can reach thousands of dollars, do not translate into results and many of the programs are scams.
In particular, state and local officials and consumer advocates have said they were concerned that homeowners looking for help through the administration’s foreclosure prevention plan, Making Home Affordable, could be taken advantage of. The plan calls for lenders to receive a federal subsidy in return for lowering a homeowner’s monthly payments to affordable rates.
The new federal effort is scheduled to be announced by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan.
According to a government statement, the effort will align responses from federal law enforcement agencies, state investigators and prosecutors, civil enforcement authorities and the private sector to protect homeowners. It is unclear whether federal officials are dedicating money.
This initiative comes after a government report showed last week that while mortgage lenders have boosted their foreclosure-prevention efforts, homeowners are increasingly falling into delinquency even after receiving help on their loans. Many borrowers have received loan modifications that failed to lower their payments, the report by the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision found. It also found that prime borrowers, who are traditionally considered less risky, have increasingly fallen into trouble.
disclaimer: Atomic Escrow does not spend one scintilla of quality time with the tortured souls who are using these new loan-saving packages for ill-gotten gain. Promise.
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