What is HAMP and how does it affect foreclosure in Florida?
The federal government has responded to the increase of foreclosure in South Florida and across the nation by developing the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) as part of the Making Home Affordable initiative. HAMP is a loan modification program designed to help homeowners with making their mortgage payments affordable and avoid foreclosure in South Florida.
Eligibility for HAMP involves:
- owning and occupying a 1-4 unit residence;
- owing $729,750 or less on your home;
- having financial circumstances making it difficult or impossible to make your mortgage payments;
HAMP Eligibility Guidelines (Part A)
If you are one the many Florida homeowners having trouble making your mortgage payments, you should consult with a South Florida attorney with experience in foreclosure law to discuss the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). The goal of this program is to provide homeowners a possible alternative to foreclosure.
Eligibility Requirements to Apply for HAMP
You must meet certain criteria before you can apply for a HAMP loan modification.
Requirements include:
- you must be the homeowner as well as the occupant of a 1- to 4-unit home;
HAMP and Other Foreclosure Options
The government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is available to help you avoid foreclosure, but to apply, you must meet certain criteria. To find out if you meet the criteria, you can take the online test on the HAMP website.
You will be asked the following 5 questions to help determine HAMP eligibility:
- Is your home your primary residence?
- Is the amount you owe on your fist lien mortgage no more than $729,750?
- Are you having trouble paying your mortgage?
- Did you obtain your mortgage before January 1, 2009?
Fighting Your Florida Foreclosure Action
Once you have been served with a Foreclosure Summons, your options as a defaulting borrower become severely limited. Available options to avoid a Florida foreclosure may be further decreased by your particular situation.
You can either accept the action and allow the lender to foreclose on your property, or you can fight the action using a foreclosure defense specific to your circumstances. Should you decide to fight the action, it would be in your best interest to contact an experienced Ft. Lauderdale foreclosure attorney who is knowledgeable with foreclosure laws.
Your options after receiving a Foreclosure Summons are essentially limited to:
The advantages of Short Sales for those in desperate financial situations
The advantages of Short Sales for those in desperate financial situations
Each year an increasing amount of homeowners are facing financial problems due to an unstable economic climate and sometimes new mortgages payments are just too high for homeowners to pay, so they’re looking for new alternatives to try and avoid the prospect of foreclosure. The reason people find themselves in this situation is often because they are lured in with a loan that has attractive low payments, however, these low payments eventually will come to an end, leaving homeowners in a sticky financial situation.
Banks may warm to idea of principle reductions
by John Gittelsohn and Prashant Gopal, Bloomberg News
Obama expands foreclosure fix
Obama expands foreclosure fix
Two steps: Second liens now covered by modification program; servicers must offer eligible borrowers principal reduction under Hope for Homeowners.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Obama administration said Tuesday it is expanding its foreclosure prevention program to cover second mortgages and to direct more troubled borrowers to the Hope for Homeowners program.
Announced with great fanfare in mid-February, the president’s $75 billion program has gotten off to a slow start. Loan servicers only recently started taking applications and many delinquent borrowers have complained about being left in the cold because their home values have dropped or they’ve lost their jobs.
US foreclosures up 24 percent in 1st quarter
US foreclosures up 24 percent in 1st quarter
Foreclosures up 24 percent in first quarter as temporary halts expire
- Thursday April 16, 2009, 6:20 am EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of American households threatened with losing their homes grew 24 percent in the first three months of this year and is poised to rise further as major lenders restart foreclosures after a temporary break, according to data released Thursday.