The complaints about the success — or lack thereof — of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) are getting louder.
By all accounts, the program is far less successful than government officials had hoped. Out of 1 million homeowners who received a temporary loan modification from their lenders, just 116,000 — or 11 percent — have received a permanent loan modification.
But the number of people who have received permanent loan modifications is probably only a small fraction of the entire number of people who either applied for a loan modification under the Obama plan or wanted to. The number is far short of the 4 million homeowners President Obama said would be helped when he announced the program.
Homeowners looking for permanent modifications are running into significant roadblocks, including:
- Homeowners who are current on their mortgage but are at risk of imminent default are being told by lenders that they can’t be helped unless they are 60 days late on their mortgage.
- Uneven training for customer service personnel means homeowners hear different stories every time they call their lender.
- Important documents are frequently lost. Homeowners report sending in documents over and over again.
- Three-month trial loan modification periods have stretched into 5, 6 or even 8 months.
- Homeowners told they have been approved for permanent loan modifications cannot get their lenders to send the paperwork.