HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan recently stated, “The Making Home Affordable Program has provided help and hope to America’s homeowners.” “Families across the country have used its tools to reduce their principal, modify their mortgages, fight off foreclosure and stay in their homes – helping further stimulate our housing market recovery.” It was very nice to hear the actual name of the program, since normally you hear “MHA” program.

It is just good to know that we will continue to have this program for homebuyers because the Obama Administration has extended the Making Home Affordable program through December 2015. This action matches former decisions which created similar new expiration dates to these programs:

1. The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)

2. The Streamlined Modification Initiative for homeowners with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs).

More AbbreviationsYou Should Know

The MHA is run jointly by the Departments of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development. Several foreclosure prevention programs operate under its umbrella:

1. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP),
2. The second lien modification program, 2MP
3. The Principal Reduction Alternative Program (PRA)
4. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program.

All of these MHA programs were originally scheduled to be discontinued on December 31, 2013.

We think the administration is very proud of itself for extending these programs. We agree with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew, who said, “The housing market is gaining steam, but many homeowners are still struggling,” He added,”Helping responsible homeowners avoid foreclosure is part of our wide-ranging efforts to strengthen the middle class, and Making Home Affordable offers homeowners some of the deepest and most dependable assistance available to prevent foreclosure.

Take A Look At the Record
     1. Since launching in March 2009, about 1.6 million actions have been taken through the program.
2. This process has provided relief to numerous homeowners and directly assisted nearly 1.3 million homeowners.
3. As of March 2013, more than 1.1 million homeowners have received a permanent modification of their mortgage through HAMP.
4. Those helped through HAMP have saved about of $546 every month, or 38 percent of their previous payment.
5. Additionally MHA has created protections for homeowners. Mortgage services have regulated requirements regarding “clear and timely communications” with homeowners. This protection guarantees that homeowners will be evaluated for assistance before being thrown to the wolves of a foreclosure.

In reference to the extention, Tracy Mooney, Senior Vice President of Single Family Servicing and REO, stated, “Thanks to today’s action by the Obama Administration, Freddie Mac will extend HAMP to financially troubled borrowers through 2015.” She too cited statistics, proving the validity of the programs. “We have helped more than 830,000 Freddie Mac borrowers avoid foreclosure since 2009 and nearly 230,000 of these families were helped through HAMP, which has played a critical role in the housing recovery now underway.”

Words To Take To Heart

If you have a friend or a neighbor in financial difficulty, he or she might take courage Tracy Mooney’s advice. She said firmly, “We strongly encourage borrowers facing financial challenges to talk to their servicers about HAMP or Freddie Mac’s standard mortgage modification.”

HUD Secretary, Shawn Donovan summarized, “Extending the program for two years will benefit many additional families while maintaining clear standards and accountability for an important part of the mortgage industry.”