FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jesse Van Tol (202) 464-2709
May 14, 2009 jvantol@ncrc.org
NCRC says program should move toward mandatory participation by lenders & servicers
WASHINGTON, DC – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced changes to Making Home Affordable, the two-month-old foreclosure prevention program introduced by President Obama, at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). The enhancements, including incentives to facilitate deeds-in-lieu, short sales and loan modifications in areas where home values have declined, are helpful and necessary improvements to the current program.
“The enhancements today will help more borrowers avoid some of the financial damage caused by foreclosure,” said John Taylor, president & CEO of NCRC. “We’re encouraged by the early numbers, but more work remains to be done to compel lenders to fully participate in the program and to modify loans before they go into default and face imminent foreclosure.”
“Making Home Affordable is the strongest program yet offered to address rising home foreclosures. We applaud the President and the Secretaries for taking aggressive action,” said Taylor. “Unless and until we can address the foreclosure crisis that is stripping wealth from communities across America, the recession will be prolonged.”
Secretaries Geithner and Donovan met with John Taylor and mortgage counselors from NCRC’s National Homeownership Sustainability Fund (NHSF) to discuss early successes of Making Home Affordable (MHA), as well as ways to improve MHA’s implementation and design prior to the press conference today.
NCRC also expressed concerned that today’s program changes continue to allow Broker Price Opinions in cases in which the broker has a relationship with the property as valid valuation techniques under the program.
