Just 10 percent of real estate agents think Obama’s Home Affordable Mortgage Program has actually slowed the rate of foreclosures, according to a survey released yesterday by national real estate listings site Homes & Land. Sixty-five percent of agents believed that the HAMP initiative had definitely not helped, while the rest were unsure. The survey, conducted in February, culled responses from almost 5,800 agents in local markets across the country. More than half of respondents had been working as real estate agents for more than 10 years. Despite the perceived HAMP failure, most agents were optimistic about market conditions: 58 percent said consumer interest in purchasing a home had increased over the past three months. TRD

Obama’s loan modification plan, which has so far granted permanent mortgage payment adjustments to only a small fraction of those who received temporary relief, may soon get a boost. The administration is expected to announce a new initiative today that will help make more of that aid a long-term fix for troubled borrowers. The new additions to the $75 billion plan, which launched in April, include partnerships with organizations to offer homeowners assistance and a push for more transparency from loan servicers. In an effort to stave off rising foreclosures and to get more temporary modification recipients into permanent plans, the administration also recently loosened its requirements for documentation, which some said were hindering the process. [CNN Money]

New York is cracking down on mortgage fraud and beefing up foreclosure protections for homeowners and renters with a set of newly passed state mortgage laws. A bill passed last month by the State Legislature, now awaiting Governor David Paterson’s expected signature, says renters in foreclosed properties can no longer be evicted before being given 90 days’ notice, or, if it is longer, until the end of their lease. Before the new legislation, renters could be forced out after just 48 hours. And, to fight back against the spate of apartment buildings left in disrepair after foreclosure, lenders will now be responsible for keeping occupied buildings in decent shape. The legislation also expands the state’s loan modification program, which previously included only subprime borrowers, and prevents “distressed property consultants” from accepting the upfront fees that have contributed to scams in the past. [NYDN]

Obama’s Making Home Affordable program, which launched in February, has begun modifying loans on a trial basis for 650,000 borrowers, or one-fifth of those eligible, the administration announced yesterday. The program aims to modify loans for up to four million borrowers whose payments are more than 60 days delinquent over the next several years by enticing mortgage companies and investors to reduce their demands. While the Treasury Department said yesterday’s data means the program is on track to meet that goal, JPMorgan Chase said only 26 percent of customers who made trial payments under the program had submitted the necessary documents to make the modifications permanent. At Morgan Stanley, just 500 participating customers have received permanent modifications so far. A permanent fix is only granted if borrowers become current on their payments after three months and submit both a hardship affidavit and other documentation. Because much of the problem seems to stem from documentation, the Treasury Department has begun relaxing some requirements. Last month, borrowers who had made three trial payments were granted 60 extra days on their paperwork.

The Obama administration plans to introduce changes to the Federal Housing Administration’s loan modification program today. The administration hopes new guidelines will help holders of FHA-issued mortgages to avoid foreclosure, by reducing mortgage payments to around 31 percent of monthly income and allowing homeowners to modify their mortgage after just one missed payment. The new plan also offers a $1,250 incentive fee to servicers for each mortgage they modify.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced he would sue
Uniondale, L.I.-based loan modification company American Modification
Agency and 14 similar companies with business in New York under the
state’s consumer protection statutes. He said American Modification Agency, known as Amerimod, and others
were illegally charging upfront fees for services to modify loans
facing foreclosure, which is not allowed by state law, as well as
making misleading statements about their level of success with prior
clients in advertisements. “In many ways the entire [loan modification] industry is a scam, in my
opinion, because no one had to pay for this service in the first
place,” because the federal government offers it for free, he said. [more]