MakingHomeAffordable.gov

Learn About Making Home Affordable

Refinancing
Many homeowners pay their mortgages on time but are not able to refinance to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates perhaps due to a decrease in the value of their home.

Modification
Many homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments perhaps because their interest rate has increased or they have less income.

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Are You Eligible?

Please use the self-assessment tools provided on this website
to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who may
be able to benefit from Making Home Affordable.

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Foreclosures Jump as Moratorium Ends

Foreclosures jumped 46 percent in March compared to a year earlier and were up 17 percent compared to February with more than 340,000 properties affected nationwide, according to foreclosure marketer RealtyTrac.

Nearly 804,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from January through March, up from about 650,000 in the same time period a year earlier, RealtyTrac says.

Many lenders and servers had put a moratorium on foreclosures, waiting for the details of the Obama administration’s foreclosure plan. But now they are back with a vengeance. The end of the moratorium is also driving an increase in the availability of REO properties, according to RealtyTrac.

Nevada, Arizona and California had the nation’s highest foreclosure rate. Other states in the top 10 in the first quarter were Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Utah and Oregon.

States with the highest number of actual foreclosures, 60 percent of the total, were California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada and Illinois. Rounding out the top 10 were Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Texas and Virginia.

One in every 159 homes nationwide was at some stage of foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac.

Source: RealtyTrac (04/09/2009)

Banks Likely to Ramp Up Foreclosures

More borrowers are expected to lose their homes to foreclosure as the nation's largest mortgage companies lift their internal moratoriums on home repossessions and start to determine which troubled borrowers cannot be helped. 

The mortgage companies say the Obama administration's housing plan has given them a better idea of which borrowers they should assist, but their actions could be politically sensitive because some lenders received funds from the federal government's financial stimulus program. 

An increase in foreclosures could lead to a further decline in residential prices and put more pressure on the earnings of banks as they write off troubled loans. 

Source: Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (4/15/2009)

Southern California Home Buyer's Fair this weekend

Thursday, April 16, 2008

Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair this weekend at L.A. Convention Center

Event Highlights:
.  More than 50 FREE “how to” seminars
.  Nearly 75 exhibit booths
.  Real estate market outlook from C.A.R.’s Chief Economist, Leslie Appleton-Young
.  Representatives available to discuss C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Fund’s Mortgage Protection Program
.  Free movie tickets to the first 200 attendees each day

LOS ANGELES (April 16) – Thousands of potential home buyers are expected to converge this weekend for the second annualSouthern California Home Buyer’s Fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 18, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 19, features more than 50 educational “how-to” seminars designed to help home buyers navigate today’s real estate market with confidence and peace of mind.

The event is free to the public. In addition, the first 200 attendees each day will receive a free movie ticket (one ticket per person).

Seminar topics include monitoring and fixing credit, how to find and qualify for a home loan, and how to find and buy foreclosures, short sales, and REOs. Several of the sessions also will be offered in Spanish. One of the featured presentations includes “Market Outlook: Opportunities Abound for First-time Buyers,” which will be presented by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. The presentation will include an historical overview of the housing market, and a synopsis of the current financial situation and its impact when trying to secure a mortgage loan. Appleton-Young also will provide a preview of what consumers can expect for California’s housing market in the coming months.

The Southern California Home Buyer’s Fair (www.homebuyersfair.com) also will feature nearly 75 exhibit booths, where attendees can obtain information from industry experts about homeownership and the home-buying process. Representatives from C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Fund will be available to discuss its recently launched Mortgage Protection Program (MPP) , which provides qualified, first-time home buyers with $1,500 per month, for six months, to help make their mortgage payments, if they lose their jobs due to layoffs. To learn more about C.A.R.’s MPP, visit the C.A.R. booth located in the exhibit hall at booth numbers 101 and 103.

The event is sponsored by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ® and the Los Angeles Times.

For complete information, go to www.homebuyersfair.com.

source C.A.R.

FREE Legal Hotline, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m

C.A.R. understands the tremendous pressure you’re facing in today’s challenging housing market.  In light of the current economic situation, C.A.R. is providing free and reduced-cost services to you.

That’s why I’m pleased to announce that beginning Saturday, April 4, you’ll be able to call the C.A.R. Legal Hotline, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and speak live with an attorney.  Calls will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.  You may call the Hotline at (213) 739-8282 anytime during the Saturday hours of operation.

The C.A.R. Legal Hotline offers free, confidential legal advice over the telephone on a vast array of real-estate related topics, such as contract interpretation, arbitration, litigation, tax issues, commission disputes, disclosure requirements, fair housing issues, and laws governing homeowners' associations.

To reach the C.A.R. Legal Hotline, call (213) 739-8282. For more information, or to submit a query via e-mail, go to http://www.car.org/legal/legal-hotline-access/.

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK: DON’T THROW OUT YOUR TV

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK: DON’T THROW OUT YOUR TV

The roughly 110 million U.S. households with televisions are preparing for the switch to digital television reception (postponed until June 12, 2009) by adding a converter box or upgrading to a digital-ready television. The old set may contain as much as five pounds of lead and, in some locales, it may be illegal to simply leave your old set at curbside. Visit the EPA's eCycling site (www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/tv-convert.htm) to learn your local recycling options.

Lose your Job? Keep your House!

I am very pleased to announce that this Thursday, April 2, C.A.R. will launch a new program designed to provide peace of mind to first-time buyers who are hesitant to enter the housing market due to concerns about potential job loss, and subsequently being unable to meet their monthly mortgage obligations.

Through the C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund Mortgage Protection Program (C.A.R.H.A.F. MPP), first-time home buyers who lose their jobs due to layoffs may be eligible to receive up to $1,500 per month for up to six months to help make their mortgage payments. A qualified co-buyer also can participate in the program, for a reduced monthly benefit of $750 per month for up to six months in the event of a job loss. Program benefits also include coverage for accidental disability and a $10,000 death benefit. C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Fund is dedicating $1 million to the program this year, and estimates that as many as 3,000 families will benefit from the program throughout 2009.

To qualify for the Mortgage Protection Program, applicants must:
. Be a first-time home buyer – someone who has not owned a home in the last three years
. Open escrow April 2, 2009, or later, and close on or before Dec. 31, 2009
. Use a California REALTOR® in the transaction
. Purchase the property in California
. Be a W-2 employee (cannot be self-employed or military personnel)

First-time home buyers must request an application for the H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program from their REALTOR®. For applications and other information on this exciting new program, go to www.car.org/aboutus/hafmainpage/ or contact Monica Rodriguez at (213) 739-8380 or monicar@car.org.

The Mortgage Protection Program is a proactive approach by C.A.R. to address consumers’ concerns about the real estate market and their ability to make their mortgage payments should they loose their jobs. I encourage you to take full advantage of this new program by sharing information about the C.A.R.H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program with your clients. There is no cost to either you or your clients to participate.