Help for a Homeowner's Mortgage
The federal government created several different programs to help struggling homeowners make their mortgage payments. While a government cannot compel many mortgage lenders to participate, they can offer incentives to these lenders. Most lenders do not want to foreclose on a mortgage. They prefer to find a way to receive their payments on time, rather than have the expense of taking and selling the foreclosed home. Many of these government programs provide ways to keep homeowners in their homes and help lenders receive their monthly payments.
Other People Are Reading
-
Making Home Affordable
-
The Making Home Affordable program requires loan servicers of loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to provide specialized refinancing and modification programs. Homeowners may call their loan servicer, the company they pay each month, and ask if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns their mortgage. If the homeowner has not paid her mortgage late in the past year, she may qualify for a Home Affordable Refinance. If the homeowner has struggled to pay his mortgage and was late multiple times over the past 12 months, then he may be eligible for a Home Affordable Modification. Both of these programs are designed to help lower the monthly payment and avoid the foreclosure.
Hope for Homeowners
-
Congress created the Hope for Homeowners program, which started October 1, 2008, and continues through September 30, 2011. This program helps homeowners who currently have a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or a loan insured by FHA to obtain new affordable financing. This program is available to people who are in all stages of the foreclosure process, including post-foreclosure sale of the home. The homeowner must still be in the redemption period to qualify, however. This program attempts to refinance the mortgage into a new 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a lower interest rate and lower monthly payment. Homeowners can expect this process to take it least 60 days.
-
VA Mortgage Help
-
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides many different ways veterans can avoid foreclosure on VA-guaranteed loans. The VA may offer to reamortize the loan by adding the delinquent payments back into the loan balance and bring the loan current. VA also has the option of refunding, or purchasing the loan from the lender, and servicing the loan itself. This may allow VA to offer additional alternatives to the veteran in an attempt to save the house.
Housing Counseling
-
Many states and municipalities provide their own forms of housing assistance. Each state has its own housing authority office, and many areas have multiple nonprofit housing counseling agencies serving homeowners. These nonprofits and housing authorities provide homeowners access to state, local and private help for homeowners. Homeowners should contact theor local housing authority or find a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved nonprofit housing counseling company for details of programs available in their area.
-
