HAMP Extended to 2016

The Federal Government announced last Friday that the Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”) has been extended to the end of 2016.  HAMP was set to expire at the end of this year; this extension provides homeowners with additional time to apply for this program, which provides loan modifications to struggling homeowners.

While this extension for HAMP is a good thing for homeowners, almost everyone agrees that this program––passed in the wake of the financial crisis––has fallen well below expectations, and has not helped everyone that it should have.  There are different opinions on why the program has not been successful, and I’ll give you mine:  loan servicers have made an absolute mess out of processing loan modification applications, to the point where homeowners simply cannot get their applications reviewed.  I suspect that if servicers gave these HAMP applications the attention they deserved, this program would be much more effective in helping those who need it.

Homeowners in need of a loan modification should continue to apply for HAMP, but need to create a paper trail in submitting their applications and consult an attorney if their loan servicer refuses to help them.