Are HAMP Improvements Possible?

On Wednesday, November 17th, MN Senator Franken joined 17 other Senators in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner asking for immediate changes to the HAMP program to help homeowners facing foreclosure. 

The complete letter is here. (PDF Document)

Here are some of the key steps the Senator(s) recommend implementing in order to improve the HAMP program:

• The creation of the Office of the Homeowner Advocate. This office would focus on assisting homeowners who believe their mortgage servicer is breaking the rules;
• Provisions that would hold servicers accountable;
• Automatically extend permanent mortgage modifications if trial modifications are completed successfully;
• Revise eligibility requirements;
• Ensure that servicers provide homeowners with necessary documentation; and
• Provide homeowners with information as to why they have been denied HAMP modification.

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center applauds any and all efforts to assist struggling homeowners... and welcomes your comments as well!

• Will Senator Franken's suggestions improve the HAMP program?
• What improvements would YOU suggest to improve the HAMP program?
• Do you have other suggestions for helping struggling MN homeowners?

Use the comments section to post your suggestions.

Senator Al Franken at the Center

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center was pleased to have been able to host a roundtable discussion on Saturday, June 26, 2010 with Senator Al Franken and representatives from a number of housing and lending organizations from around the State. A number of topics were discussed including information about the current foreclosure situation in Minnesota, the need for additional housing counseling dollars, the impact of the SAFE Act on housing counseling, what is working (and what’s not) with the HAMP program.

In addition, the Senator reiterated his support for a strong consumer watchdog agency to make sure that consumers are protected in their dealings with financial institutions, including credit card companies and mortgage lenders.

Representatives from several organizations attended the roundtable, including the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, Minnesota Housing, the City of Minneapolis, the City of St. Paul, Neighborhood Development Alliance, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, Community Pride Bank and the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.

There are a number of photos of the day’s events at the Center’s online photo gallery on FlickR.

Here are just a few:

Senator Al Franken with Executive Director Julie Gugin:

(Click to Enlarge)

Roundtable participants speak with Senator Franken after the event:

(Click to Enlarge)

The full photo gallery is here.