The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is extending the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) through June 30, 2011. HARP is a key component of the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention efforts. It provides mortgage refinancing to borrowers whose homes have lost value and now find themselves owing more than the home is worth. Several industry groups have been lobbying FHFA to extend the program, arguing that it keeps creditworthy, performing borrowers out of unnecessary foreclosure.
Fannie Mae says it needs another $15.3 billion bailout from the U.S. Treasury, after the GSE came up $16.3 billion in the red for the fourth quarter of 2009 and posted a loss of $74.4 billion for all of last year. Although the housing crisis is showing signs of lessening in some major markets, it continues to take its toll on the nation's largest mortgage financier. Fannie Mae's 2009 annual losses widened compared to the $59.8 billion deficit recorded for 2008, and its Q4 results marked the GSE's tenth consecutive quarterly shortfall.
Loan modification scams are on the rise, but HUD is taking action to put these con artists out of business. Preventloanscams.org was recently launched by the federal agency in partnership with a national coalition of public and private enterprises. The new system allows for better analysis of fraud trends across jurisdictional lines, which HUD says will likely lead to an increase in private enforcement action filings. Officials estimate that this online tool will assist approximately 50,000 homeowners who've been victimized by loan modification scams.
The FDIC is preparing to auction off a portfolio of loans it acquired from 19 failed bank takeovers. According to a preliminary announcement regarding the sale, the portfolio consists primarily of residential real estate acquisition, development, and construction loans with unpaid principal balances totaling approximately $610 million. About 80 percent of the loans are past due and classified as nonperforming.
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