Mortgage refinancing programs targeted by Republicans

Mortgage refinancing programs offered by the government are considered by many to be a failure. Congressional Republicans have made clear their intention to cut any remaining mortgage modification plans, as few have a success rate worth boasting of. The recent quagmire and scandal involving foreclosure processes has slowed the number of foreclosures nationwide. Article resource – Mortgage modification programs under fire from Republicans by MoneyBlogNewz.

Failed mortgage relief programs prime target for spending cuts

Congressional Republicans are taking aim at failing programs that throw money down the drain, and mortgage refinancing plans are prime targets, according to CNN. House of Representative members have suggested that $38 billion could be saved in the spending budget if federal programs that are there to help those with failing mortgages would just be taken away. A huge focus on is the Home Affordable Modification Program. This is because it was called a failure by Neil Barofsky who’s the Inspector General for the TARP.

Finding more to cut

You will find several other mortgage helping programs that could possibly be cut. These consist of the Emergency Homeowner Relief Fund, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program and all other plans under the FHA. However, these plans have not been smashing successes, either. Mississippi Representative and chair of the House Financial Services Committee Spencer Bacchus said that ending plans that do not work only makes sense as "it's time to pull the plug" to them. There has been a success rate of less than 50 percent with these programs since only about 500,000 permanent mortgage modifications have been made. Processing foreclosures has taken forever. The time is getting longer.

Lengthier foreclosure process

There are more procedural rules that have been put on foreclosure processes. This means that it is taking lengthier for lenders to foreclose on homes, USA Today reports. A distressed homeowner will spend about 19 to 20 months living in a foreclosed home at current rates, which might increase to 22 to 23 months. Before the mortgage crisis, the normal time a person would have gone in a foreclosed home was 250 days which changed from Jan 2010 to Dec. 2010 alone from 410 days to 507 days. Increased scrutiny due to the “robo-signing” controversy has led to foreclosures taking far lengthier, which causes loan companies to lose considerable amounts of money.

Information from

CNN

money.cnn.com/2011/02/25/news/economy/gop_Obama_housing_help/index.htm

USA Today

usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2011-02-21-unpaidmortgages21_ST_N.htm