Obama mortgage plan has 40%

The Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention efforts are facing major obstacles, according to the Associated Press, with more than 40 percent of the homeowners engaged in the president’s mortgage aid program already dropped out. Of the 1.3 million participants who have enrolled in the program since March 2009, about 30 percent — 390,000 — have received permanent modifications on their home loans, the Treasury Department reported. While the program has been able to slash mortgage holders’ monthly payments by $500 a month, on average, many participants have complained that red tape and confusing paperwork makes the program difficult to complete. Further compounding the program’s problems, many of the borrowers who receive temporary modifications have troubling transitioning to a permanent modification, industry experts say, rendering the program largely ineffective. [Palm Beach Post]