About Modifications
This is the “question of the day” as many homeowners are faced with some very difficult decisions. As a result of a number of financial issues, including sub-prime loans some two to three years ago, some homeowners are now dealing with increased adjustable rate mortgage payments, or a loss of a job by one of the wage-earners, or a change in their personal circumstances that is causing an unexpected move out of their home...
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Existing law defines a foreclosure consultant as a person who offers, for compensation, to perform specified services for a homeowner relating to a foreclosure sale. Existing law prohibits a foreclosure consultant from entering into an agreement to assist the owner in arranging, or arrange for the owner, the release of surplus funds prior to 65 days after the trustee’s sale is conducted. This act prohibits a foreclosure consultant from entering into such agreement at any time.
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California Civil Code 1632
The law is very clear and it states that if a “contract” is negotiated in a foreign language then that contract needs to be written in that foreign language. If the loan is negotiated in Spanish, then the loan documents need to be in Spanish.
The reality is that this never happened and many of these borrowers are going into foreclosure when they have a legitimate defense and can fight back against this form of predatory lending. According to data from the United States Census of 2000, of the more than 12 million Californians who speak a language other than English in the home, approximately 4.3 million speak an Asian dialect or another language other than Spanish. The top five languages other than English most widely spoken by Californians in their homes are Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean.
Can a Loan Modification Prevent Foreclosure
Much recent attention has been given to homeowners who are dealing with the extreme difficulties of impending or current foreclosure. News outlets from the Wall Street Journal to the local network news have almost daily stories about families dealing with the pain of such experiences. The problem has gotten so bad now that even the highest echelons of government have begun weighing-in on the growing crisis, evident in the recent comments of FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Blair who advocated “a systematic and streamlined approach to loan modifications to put borrowers into long-term, sustainable mortgages."
On February 18, 2009 President Obama introduced the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. As part of this plan, the Treasury Department organized an implemented the Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”), a nationwide modification program aimed at helping 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners by reducing monthly payments to sustainable levels.
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Housing Recovery Status Report 070709
The American Bankers Association's (ABA) today released Consumer Credit Delinquency data. The ABA report said that the composite ratio, which tracks delinquencies in eight closed-end installment loan categories, rose 0.1 percent to a new record high of 3.23 percent of all accounts being delinquent.
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