To Refi or To Modify, That is the Question

In an article that appeared in Philliadelphia Business Today entitled "Housing Chief Says Refinancing Program is Working" the executive director of Mount Airy USA, which provides financial  counseling, stated the following:

"Truth is that there are so many programs out there now . . . most struggling homeowners don't know why they are calling us other than for help."

This is an amazing statement, but one that we can all relate to. Over the past several months I have spoken to many people that aren't sure what to do about their home mortgages, some are so confused they settle for doing nothing. 

Homeownership is a big responsibility. Up until now it just meant that we had to maintain a yard or fix a pipe now and then. Now there is another kind of maintenance that needs to be attended to, the financial health of the home.

The first, and easiest place to start is taking this quick, simple, 4 question test to see if you qualify for the "Making Homeownership Affordable Program". Take the test here.

Most people will not qualify for this program. So the next place to go for guidence is the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. There are over 26,000 locations from coast to coast. Find an office in your area here. Seek the the help of qualified counselor and find out exaclty what kind of help you need. 

Making the correct desision is crucial when it comes to the single largest purchase of your life. I hope you will take the steps to make an educated desision. 

Matt Kemper

YourCreditCompany.com

What Is The Priority?

I know I am barking up the same tree, or preaching to the choir, but here I go again (remember, this is coming from an X mortgage lender, turned conservative)...

I was reading this a.m. on the HUD web site about the allocation of more that $10 billion of funds being distributed to HUD from the Recovery Act. Well really, who wouldn’t be excited about that? When these government loans where given they were insured by the government. They insure these loans with Mortgage Insurance, which is required on government loans, and the home owner pays for it directly out of his own pocket. This insurance does not benefit the borrower, it benefits the servicer of the home loan. The government is now funding a bail out or recovery plan for these loans. Who will this money help and what houses will it recover?

The plan is said to modernize public housing and fund energy-efficient programs. Is this a primary concern at the present time? The Native American Housing Block Grant will receive $255 million, again to be used for energy efficient modernization. $100 million to be allocated for lead based paint and hazard reduction. Tax Credit Assistence Program coming in with $2.25 billion. The list goes on and on…

These grants will help “State Housing” to kick start affordable rental housing projects that rely on low housing tax credit, and a measly $2 billion to be allocated to help section 8 project-based housing contracts. ( Since this is were we are all heading anyway) Is this the primary concern of the public right now? Is this really creating stable communities when the owners are walking away from there home because they can longer afford to support their families?

Lead based paint or going green…is this a priority to anyone else except the politicians? When you can’t go home, does it matter that you can’t afford to go green? Green…I think we are all seeing red right now.

Renee
YourCreditCompany.com