Government loan modification programs failing miserably
... and it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone.
The NY Times is reporting that the Making Home Affordable Program, another of the government efforts to stem foreclosures and stabilize the housing market is failing miserably. Read more.
Locally, here in the Charleston real estate market, it seems much more orderly and I suppose I don't know what neighborhoods look like in Florida or California but there is a home that will be foreclosed on my street as soon as it goes through the legal process but neighbors have pitched in by cutting the lawn and making the home look a little better.
Now I wish they would cut the lawn of another neighbor who is actually living in their home but that's a story for another day.
And it seems that lender owned homes are coming on the market and either selling quickly or being reduced in price and selling eventually. And there is even more positive news with short sales being approved a little quicker by the banks and actually closing.
So the free market does work after all and it would probably be a better idea for the government to step out of the way and let the chips fall as they may but then you probably don't expect that to happen, do you.
And while we're on the subject of loan modification, if you are in financial difficulty, please don't contact one of the many loan modification companies out there that will take your money and do nothing for you. I'm sure it's frustrating to not get answers from your lender but I just heard of someone who wasted $3000 that they surely couldn't afford and got foreclosed anyway when they sent their money in and got nothing for it.
Now that is an area the government should get more involved in, namely protecting us from scams, frauds, and ne'er do wells.